Ditch piping proposal offers benefits, loss

A proposal to pipe the 3.8-mile Uncle John ditch south of Sisters promises to bring better water service - and threatens a scenic feature on the popular Peterson Ridge Trail.

Three Sisters Irrigation District (TSID) is proposing to pipe the Uncle John ditch. The city and five other property owners would gain pressurized water, the city would gain 600 feet of mainline pipe to service city property, TSID would add 2.6 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water to Whychus Creek - all at no dollar cost to the city or the other property owners.

According to TSID Director Marc Thalacker, the ditch currently loses 22 percent of its flow due to seepage; that portion of the flow, saved by piping the ditch, would be returned to Whychus Creek to enhance restoration of the steelhead and bull trout runs.

But... the Uncle John provides the only "water feature" left on the Peterson Ridge Trail.

FivePine developer Bill Willitts told the Sisters City Council, "I am opposed (to this piping proposal) on one level, and I hope the city is opposed on one level. On the Peterson Ridge Trail, which is probably becoming the number-one draw to this community, we have one water feature left on the entire trail. It really means a lot...

"(The loss of the other bridge) was a catastrophic loss to tourism on some levels, certainly it was emotionally to me and to a lot of other people in this community. I think it is important for the city to require that ... we have a beautiful pond there (at the remaining bridge) ... that creates that uninterrupted physical view for the Peterson Ridge Trail."

Willitts maintains that the Peterson Ridge Trail is economically more important to the community than the return of the steelhead and bull trout to Whychus Creek. Willitts points out that due to the conservation efforts already completed, the fish will be returning with or without the 2.6 cfs returned to the creek,

Scott McCaulou, project manager of the Deschutes River Conservancy, agreed with the argument that the fish would be returning within an estimated two to three years with or without the additional flow. McCaulou did indicate that the additional flow would enhance the health of the run.

Thalacker indicated that TSID would be open to creating the turnout structure for a pond at the current bridge on the trail at no charge, as long as it was done during the construction of the pipeline. It would fall to the city to negotiate with the landowner, the Forest Service, and the state and local water right entities to pay for and maintain the water feature.

Thalacker made his pitch at a city council workshop on June 23. The $1,302,471 funding for the Uncle John piping project would be covered by a variety of water-resource-related agencies, with TSID contributing $442,272. The funding will only be available for a limited amount of time, which led Thalacker to press the city for a decision on the pipeline by the end of July.

The city council and staff indicated strong support for the piping project; they also strongly supported the concept of creating and maintaining a water feature on the trail. However, they also recognized that working out the design details, water rights, and funding of such a feature would most certainly take a lot longer than a few weeks.

Thalacker indicated that the provisions that would allow for a water feature could be made as the pipe was being laid without actually fitting out the water feature at that time. Later, if the city was able to work out a viable plan for the water feature, they would simply have to dig up the return and connect to the pipe. The water for the feature would have to come from the city's 25 percent of the water in the pipe.

City Manager Eileen Stein indicated that she would start the dialogue with the appropriate water agencies and with the Forest Service.