In the Flow
District news & updates
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The DRA is currently accepting applications!
The deadline is June 15, 2022.
or 541-630-0752.
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REMINDER!
DRA Applications DUE NLT 15 June
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The Klamath Project Drought Response Agency (KPDRA) is currently accepting applications for its 2022 No Irrigation Programs to provide financial assistance and/or relief to local farmers and ranchers who normally receive surface water through the Klamath Project. The application deadline is June 15, 2022.
There are two programs:
First, qualified irrigators who do not apply irrigation water from any source to eligible Klamath Project lands from November 1, 2021 to October 31, 2022 may be eligible for Full Season Program Payments
Second, qualified irrigators who irrigated between November 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022, but do not apply irrigation water from any source to eligible Project Lands from March 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022, may be eligible for Partial Season Program Payments.
Eligibility criteria are set forth in detail in the Programs Policy. Please review the policy carefully as criteria have changed from prior years.
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Many thanks to the Oregon legislators for passing SB5561.
The Oregon State legislators passed Senate Bill 5561 during the 2021 second Special Session which identified grant funding to assist Klamath Project irrigation districts for excessive costs incurred due to 2021 drought conditions.
The assistance provided to Klamath Project Districts will help us off-set the increased cost of maintaining the infrastructure damaged due to no water be placed into the canals. K.I.D. purchased additional weed control equipment, bentonite clays, and other materials to repair the infrastructure. We also increased the number of overtime hours in April and May due to significant losses and problems associated with putting water into a very dry system.
The District will retain 5.6% of the funding to offset administrative costs related to this program and to apply the remaining fund towards the extensive maintenance expenditures incurred across the District due to no water being applied to the infrastructure in 2021.
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Applying Oregon Senate Bill 5561 funds to best serve the District |
On 11 May 2022, the Klamath Irrigation District received $1,570,662.74 in relief funding from SB5561 through the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency (DRA). On 12 May 2022, the K.I.D. Board of Directors decided to utilize this funding in the following manner:
The funds are being utilized to offset the increasing operations and maintenance costs related to the conditions created by the lack of water in the system in 2021. The Directors also identified that many K.I.D. patrons were ineligible to receive relief funding from other drought programs.
Therefore, a credit to K.I.D. patrons will be applied to accounts on a per acre bases as currently assessed by K.I.D. policy and ORS 545. These funds are assumed to remain in a credit status on the accounts to be applied towards the patron’s next assessment payment.
K.I.D. district lands will receive $35 credit per acre.
K.I.D. Warren Act contract lands will receive a $22 credit per acre.
Group E contract lands will receive a $39 credit per acre.
These credits are anticipated to be applied by the staff to the eligible accounts within 60 days.
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Klamath Irrigation District - Bookkeeper
General Position Summary
The Bookkeeper is responsible for Financial and Office Support services to ensure District business office runs effectively and efficiently with a focus on customer service. Responsible for overseeing accounts payable and receivable, processing payroll, assisting the Manager in preparation of annual budget, provide monthly financial reports for the Manager and Board members, acts as treasurer for Klamath Basin Improvement District, works in collaboration with the Office Specialist on both K.I.D. and KBID business and reports directly to the District Manager. Must be well organized and comfortable dealing with financial data to produce clear financial reports.
Bookkeeper Required Skills
· Proficiency in QuickBooks and Microsoft office suite, specifically Excel.
· Knowledge and preparation of financial reports for multiple companies.
· Ability to maintain a high level of accuracy and confidentiality.
· Provide exceptional customer service to District Patrons, Staff and customers.
· Demonstrate initiative and willingness to assist with all District activities.
· Ability to prioritize multiple responsibilities and deadlines.
· Demonstrate strong interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
· The ability to work effectively and collaboratively with others.
· Demonstrate analytical, problem solving and decision-making skills.
· Must have the ability to comprehend and adhere to District policies and procedures.
Major Duties
· Develop and maintain accounting records and assist with updating policies and procedures in appropriate accounting guidance and audit standards.
· Responsible for the District payroll account and process, including tax payments, retirement, insurance, and benefits etc. Prepares W-2 and 1099 forms.
· Manage District official communications with contractors to include pension plans, IT, phone service, insurance, medical plans, and others.
· Prepare for and assist with annual audit.
· Responsible for monitoring all District cash accounts, deposits/withdrawals, time deposits, and investment accounts.
· Responsible for accounts payable and accounts receivable, including obtaining proper approvals before placing orders or processing payments.
· Ensure that bank reconciliations and accounts are balanced monthly and provide reports to the Manager.
· Purchase of office supplies, office equipment and office repairs.
· Assist Office Specialist with all assessment rolls; billings, and collections as needed.
Applications are also available at Klamath Irrigation District office, 6640 KID Ln, M – F 8am to 4:30pm. 541-882-6661. Open until filled.
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Partnership with Farmers Conservation Alliance Update |
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Our partnership with FCA has identified a funding opportunity to move forward in addressing our desire to modernize the A Canal. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), through anticipated cooperative agreements from the Department of the Interior (DOI), Department of Defense (DoD), and the Department of Agriculture’s U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), announced the launch of the America the Beautiful Challenge 2022 Request for Proposals.
We are preparing a proposal to address the modernization planning needed for the A Canal. We wish to achieve the following benefits:
· Public Safety
· Recreational opportunities
· Water savings and drought resiliency (goal of program)
· Agricultural resiliency
· Reconnect wildlife corridors for migratory birds (goal of the program).
Efficiencies in modernizing the A Canal will likely assist in maintaining higher water levels in Upper Klamath Lake into the late summer, this savings could also be returned to the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuges through farmland in preparation for fall migration of 100,000s of birds along the Pacific Flyway.
This planning effort would provide 10% designs. This proposal would also include the foundation for the creation of an Environmental Impact Statement to access PL-566 funds.
FCA is also continuing to work on the D-System Improvement Plan including the Adams and Stukel pumping plants in preliminary designs.
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Klamath Falls is proposed as the place for a public, state-of-the -art community center to help us work toward a sustainable future. Most Federal and state resource agencies are officed in Klamath Falls and the history of issues have generally been focused in the upper watershed.
There are significant moneys coming into the Watershed for watershed restoration, energy, and social recovery. The projects supported by these funds need to be understood by citizens and stakeholders. Project proponents would share their project designs and discuss benefits through center hosted workshops, displays, videos, and field tours.
Learn More...Contact Ron Crete at racrete@gmail.com or 218-841-7101
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Funding Opportunities for Growers |
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Oregon’s Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Suppression Program Launches
Oregon Department of Agriculture sent this bulletin at 05/17/2022 02:07 PM PDT
As Oregon’s grasshopper and Mormon cricket hatching season begin, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) provides one-time funding to help combat the expected severe outbreak. Last summer, Oregon suffered its worst outbreak of grasshoppers and Mormon crickets in fifty years. As a result, a record 10 million acres of rangeland in 18 counties suffered damaging infestation levels.
In response to the severe outbreak, in 2021, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 5561 (SB 5561) to provide funds and resources to support a grasshopper and Mormon cricket control and suppression cost-sharing program. More than $4 million is allocated for suppression/treatment and more than $800,000 for pre-treatment and post-treatment surveys.
Participation in the Grasshopper and Mormon Cricket Survey and Suppression Program is open to private landowners and land managers for properties within the state of Oregon.
How to apply
· Complete an Oregon grasshopper and Mormon cricket outbreak reporting form and request a site survey. https://oda.fyi/GHMC
· Based on survey results, treat all or a portion of the ODA recommended acreage and location.
Applicants may be reimbursed up to 75 percent of the actual cost for treatment, including product and application costs. Approved treatments are with insect growth regulator diflubenzuron. This chemical is generally of low toxicity to humans, other mammals, birds, and honeybees. To distribute 100 percent of the available funds, ODA will distribute them equally among those who apply for reimbursement. Because of this, ODA cannot state a specific reimbursement rate until we receive all reimbursement requests.
Please visit ODA online for questions about grasshoppers and Mormon crickets in Oregon, their control, and their impact on Oregon agriculture (https://oda.direct/GMC). You will also find more information about SB 5561 and the cost-share program, including details about eligibility, requirements, and scheduling.
If you have questions regarding surveys and treatment, please contact:
Todd Adams (503) 931-0829
If you have questions regarding the cost share program, please contact:
Alan Hanson (503) 949-2993
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Oregon's Disaster Assistance Program Launches
May 9, 2022
The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) today launches the Oregon Disaster Assistance Program (ODAP) for farmers and ranchers who suffered financial losses during one or more of the natural disasters that hit Oregon in 2021. The $40 million program includes forgivable loans for eligible farmers. ODAP is designed to complement USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) disaster assistance, contact your local FSA office for additional information.
For more information about ODAP please visit ODA’s ODAP webpage.
ODAP applications are available through a participating lending institution near you. ODAP will be administered by four chosen lenders familiar with agriculture. Lenders who are accepting applications:
Applications will be available until June 3, 2022, when assistance will begin to be processed. Based on available funds, ODAP may conduct a second round of applications.
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Diesel Emissions Mitigation Grants
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is providing $8 million in grant funding to reduce diesel emissions in Oregon in 2022. Revenue for this program is provided by the Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund, subject to the settlement agreement between the United States and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. In 2019, the Oregon Legislature authorized the creation of a grant program supporting businesses, governments and equipment owners in replacing older and more polluting diesel engines with new, cleaner technologies and exhaust control retrofits. These grants will be disbursed to awardees as a reimbursement of eligible project costs incurred during the project period.
Key dates for 2022
Estimated dates of grant application and deadlines are below. These are subject to change based on the timing and availability of funds and the schedule of implementation tasks.
· April 5, 2022: Grant program opens for applications
· June 7, 2022: Grant program closes for applications
· Aug. 8, 2022: Grant awards announced
· Jan. 15, 2023: Funding for projects becomes available
Key information about the program
In order to reduce diesel emissions, older, more polluting vehicles, equipment and engines must be permanently and verifiably removed from service or fitted with exhaust control technology. The following descriptions of eligible project types provide guidelines regarding potential activities that the grant program can fund:
Replacement: These projects replace diesel engine motor vehicles with an equivalent motor vehicle or replace a piece of equipment powered by a nonroad diesel engine with equivalent equipment.
Repower: The projects must replace an existing diesel engine with a newer, cleaner engine or power source that is certified by the Environmental Protection Agency and, if applicable, meet a more stringent set of engine emission standards.
Retrofit: The projects must equip a diesel engine with new emissions-reducing parts or convert the diesel engine into an engine capable of being powered by alternative fuel.
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News Stories Recently Shared with K.I.D. |
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Jason Flowers, a fourth-generation farmer, is one of many in the industry grappling with drought conditions as they prepare for planting season. Flowers said this year, he's expecting his production, and income, to be cut by 40%. |
Many farmers across the Klamath Basin are currently in the stages of planting their crops following the first few water deliveries from irrigation districts. However, with a drought emergency gutting the Basin's water supply.
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Klamath Irrigation District Loses Bid To Join River Ceremony Suit |
By Caleb Symons Law360 (May 17, 2022, 7:35 PM EDT) -- A lawsuit over the U.S. government's refusal to release water for a Yurok Tribe river ceremony during drought conditions in 2020 will proceed without a local irrigation district, which a federal judge in California found Monday sought to litigate issues beyond the scope of that case.
The Oregon-based irrigation district sought to intervene in mid-March, claiming the tribe's bid to have the Bureau of Reclamation put an extra 2.3 billion gallons of water into the river every other year would be "in excess of the live flow" available in the Upper Klamath Lake reservoir.
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Klamath Tribes sue federal government over water releases to farmers |
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — The Klamath Tribes are suing the federal government under the Endangered Species Act to halt water diversions from Upper Klamath Lake for irrigated agriculture along the Oregon-California border. Read more
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BRINGTHESALMONHOME.ORG and
SWIFTWATERFILMS.COM
Publish "Bring the Salmon Home" video
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Scientists working to uncover mystery of disappearing salmon population in Pacific Northwest |
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In 2016, reporting indicates sediment from dam repair kills fish in Shoshone River
How does FERCs Draft EIS on the Klamath River mitigate this risk?
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The Associated Press | Posted - Oct. 25, 2016
CODY, Wyo. (AP) — Repair work on the Wildwood Dam has killed trout and other fish on the Shoshone River.
The reservoir was drained last week to make way for the repairs on the nearly 100-year-old Willwood Dam northeast of Cody. Sediment flowed downstream of the dam, killing the fish almost immediately.
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"We knew there was going to be an increase in turbidity," said Jason Burckhardt, a fisheries biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. "What's going on now is outside the realm of turbidity. This is slurry."
Burckhardt said cutthroat, brown and rainbow trout as well as whitefish and suckers have all been found washed up along the river.
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Western Drought Will Impact All Americans
Congress Seeks Solutions
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A drought that has parched much of the West has Oregon officials concerned the state could face another summer of record blazes. “All signs point to a difficult 2022 fire season that will challenge our firefighting teams and the capacity of our response systems,” said Gov. Kate Brown. Read more
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Updated Long Term Forecast |
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USDA provides $6 billion for crops impacted by natural disasters
May 18, 2022
By George Plaven
Federal assistance is coming for Northwest farmers whose crops were impacted by natural disasters in 2020 and 2021.
The USDA will provide $6 billion in payments though the Farm Service Agency's Emergency Relief Program, or ERP — an expanded and more inclusive version of the previous administration's Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program.
ERP covers commodity and specialty crops, including trees, bushes and vines, damaged by extreme weather.
In a statement, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said the funding "will help offset the significant crop losses due to major weather events in 2020 and 2021 and help ensure farming operations are viable this crop year, into the next growing season and beyond."
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Seeping through the cracks: irrigation modernization lags as drought hits farms
by Christina GiardinelliMonday, May 16th 2022
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USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has awarded Oregon a record $6.7 million to help protect working farmland from development or fragmentation. The money will go toward helping Oregon farmers create nearly 15,000 acres of working land conservation easements. Read more
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While a cool and wet spring has aided in drought recovery across parts of the Northwest, climate experts in Oregon, Washington and Idaho say conditions remain critically dry in other areas with little chance of bouncing back before summer. Read more
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Inflation in April was 8.3%, a dramatic increase sparked during the COVID pandemic as Congress and the Federal Reserve Bank injected trillions of dollars into a battered economy. Inflation is almost certain to stay above 5% or 6% for the next couple of years, economists with the American Farm Bureau Federation say. Read more
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Employment opportunities shared by our neighbors |
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Medford Irrigation District - Ditch Rider/Relief Ditch Rider
Starting Wage: $20.50 DOE
Benefits (After 120-days probationary period): Health insurance (medical, dental, vision, and life), PERS Retirement, Sick, and Vacation.
Location: 5045 Jacksonville Hwy., Central Point, OR 97502
This full-time position is being advertised on 27th April 2022 until filled. Applications/resumes should be submitted to the District office at 5045 Jacksonville Hwy, Central Point, OR 97502. To view the full job announcement, visit our website at: www.medfordid.org/employment.
Owyhee Irrigation District – Dam Tender
Essential Functions
Because of the location and nature of the Dam Tender position, it has unique working and living conditions. This position requires staff to live at the Dam Compound (housing is provided) and be home every night unless vacation time has been requested in advance. This position requires being on call twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week during the irrigation season (April-October.) This position deals with events outside of the District’s control (i.e., bad weather, power outages, etc.) that may not allow scheduled time off. This job position is not recommended for a family with small children because of the long driving distance from both towns and schools. Road conditions can also be challenging in the winter months.
To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter, resume, and application to:
Owyhee Irrigation District
422 Thunderegg Blvd.
Nyssa, Oregon 97913
Santiam Water Control District - Office Manager/Executive Assistant
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Create, organize, and maintain District QuickBooks accounting files, databases, and records, including payroll files and expenditure records; Prepare journal entries and reconcile general ledger, journals, and bank statements; Audit, review, input, and process customer accounts receivable, project accounting, and accounts payable as they relate to a small utility, process employee timesheets, bank statements; post, verify and balance District accounts; prepare accounts payable for payment processing.
Applications
Interested applicants are asked to send letters of interest, resume, three professional references that demonstrate your knowledge, skills and abilities in the areas listed above. In addition, a completed and signed Application for Employment is required. Please email to request an application. Email responses with .pdf attachments sent to office@santiamwater.com are preferred. Or by mail at Santiam Water Control District 284 E Water St. Stayton OR. 97383. No telephone inquiries, please.
Swalley Irrigation District – Field Technician
This full-time position is being advertised February 14, 2022 until filled. Applications should be submitted as soon as possible and emailed to the General Manager at jer@swalley.com
Prior experience as an irrigation ditch rider, field technician, or water operator specializing in irrigation and mechanical maintenance will be prioritized. Top candidates will receive an interview and interviews will be held until the position is filled. Start date is flexible and negotiable, but candidates are encouraged to be ready, willing, and able to start by Monday, April 2, 2022.
Assignment to the position is through an open competitive process and will be based on the General Manager and Field Supervisor’s evaluation of merit, qualification, experience, and character. The starting wage for this position is competitive with similar jobs in the County and negotiable depending on experience ($23-24/hr). The position also offers health, vision, dental, life, 401a and 457b retirement benefits. The District provides all of your tools, an iPhone, and a work truck.
Washington State Water Resources Association – Executive Director
Location: Within Washington State, Remote/Hybrid
Deadline: Open Until Filled
Salary: Based on Qualifications
Responsibilities:
The Executive Director position for the Washington State Water Resources Association (WSWRA) is responsible for a combination of administrative, policy, technical, and public relations activities. The position supervises and manages the administrative office. The Executive Director is the point of contact for WSWRA and should act as the voice of WSWRA, both internally and externally. The Executive Director should be aware of national, regional, and local policies, legislation and politics, trends, and personalities in order to maintain the goal of a unified, cohesive, and effective organization.
Requirements:
Candidates should have a broad range of experiences working with state, federal and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations; communications and public relations; administrative and budgetary activities. Academic background in communications, law, public policy, natural resources, or the sciences is highly beneficial.
To view and download the full job description please click here.
Please contact John O’Callaghan jocallaghan@scbid.org or 509-547-1735 for further information, and submit letters of application and CV/resume to the same.
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The mission of Klamath Irrigation District is to acquire, maintain, assure, and deliver an adequate water supply for beneficial use on qualified land with the Klamath Project. We represent our Patrons before government agencies, the legislature, Congress, and in such forms as appropriate for the perfection and protection of their water rights.
We defend the District from actions which would diminish our effectiveness and function.
We further promote the conservation of water, soil, and other natural resources.
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The Klamath Irrigation District is a quasi-municipal corporation (special purpose local government) formed and operating pursuant to Oregon Revised Statute Chapter 545. The District was established by "Order Declaring Result of Election" entered in the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon for the County of Klamath on 10 December 1917 and subsequently absorbed the responsibilities of the Klamath Water Users Association established in 1905. The District is governed by a five member board of directors which is elected by patrons of the District. |
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