News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The Sisters School District pumped over two million gallons of water into a holding pond at the site of the new high school while testing its irrigation well last weekend.
The Deschutes County Watermaster's Office told the district to shut down the test on Monday, May 12.
School construction projects manager Bob Martin said he started pumping water at the direction of the school board.
"I was authorized by the school board to set the pump, fill the pond and test the system," Martin said.
It was an extremely thorough test.
"We fired up the pump on Thursday, (May 8) at 9 a.m.," Martin said.
The pump ran 24 hours a day at a rate of 450 gallons per minute.
"We determined that what they were doing was illegal, that they didn't have a permit for it and we asked them to shut it off and they said they would," Watermaster Kyle Gorman said.
Gorman said his office will follow up to ensure compliance, as he does in all such cases.
There is no penalty for breaking the rules, at least not the first time. In fact, it isn't clear what the rules and standards are in such cases. School board member Steve Keeton told The Nugget that there is no state regulation defining how much water can be pumped for a test.
He emphasized that the district has not used the water for anything other than testing its systems.
"At this point we've irrigated no fields," Keeton said. "All we've done is test our systems by filling the pond. If we have to irrigate before we have our permit we'll have to use city water."
Gorman acknowledged that there is no regulatory standard for tests. He said the only specifically allowed test is actually the required one-hour pump test that a well driller must conduct.
Other pumping without a permit is handled on a case-by-case basis. Gorman confirmed that filling a reservoir pond clearly exceeds an appropriate test.
Gary Frazee, who is a sworn irrigation ditch rider, reported the water pumping on Monday morning, May 12. He said he tried to contact school district officials after being informed of the pumping on Friday, but without success.
Frazee said he felt obligated to report what he considered an obvious violation.
"I believe any government agency or school board has the moral and ethical obligation to do what's right," he said.
The issue of water for irrigation will soon be moot. Keeton said the district expects to have its water permit in hand and the well and pond in operation for irrigating within two months.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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