Dear Westland patrons,

We finished the 2024 season with 1,625 AF carryover in McKay Reservoir. The irrigation season has begun with a few stops and starts. The crew has been hard at work fixing breaks and leaks as quickly as possible. The snow pack looks decent, but the warm weather over the last month has caused some of the snow to melt. McKay Reservoir is full and the releases are matched with the inflows which allows the flood space to remain vacant.  You can see the snow pack on the NRCS web page at: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/or/snow/. You can also view McKay storage on the Bureau Of Reclamation HydroMet webpage: https://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/umatilla/umatea.html.

On to district news...

SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS & WATERSHED PLAN IN THE WORKS

As has been shared in previous newsletters to patrons, Westland is working together with Farmers Conservation Alliance (FCA) to develop strategies and improvements to benefit the district and increase its efficiencies in making water deliveries to patrons, and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for grant funding for the resulting System Improvement Plan which will identify modernization methods and steps to improve operations and maintenance, district infrastructure, and water conveyance methods.

To learn more about the Watershed Plan process and see examples of Plans being developed for other Oregon irrigation districts, please visit: www.oregonwatershedplans.org

 Westland and Umatilla County reached an agreement for Westland to hold a capacity in the Ordnance Pipeline of 35cfs. The project was broken into three phases: Phase I consists of a pumping station on the Columbia River and a pipeline that delivers water to the City of Umatilla’s pipeline for industrial water about 3 miles south of the pump stations.  Phase I is complete except for the pump station on the Columbia River. The pump station is under construction and is expected to be completed by Summer of 2025. Phase II is under construction and should be finished by the beginning of May.  Phase II gets the pipe to the corner of our property (the gravel pit) North of I-82 where Bridge Road crosses.  Phase III will cross Westland’s property North of I-82, then will cross I-82 in the area of Walker Road and then head South down Walker Road towards Westland Road.  This pipeline is proposed to deliver recharge water to our A-Line in the winter months and then be able to deliver Columbia River water to the A-Line during the McKay storage season.  Westland has also submitted a Limited License for recharge of Umatilla River water in the A-Line area.  We hope to have it approved this summer.

 Finally, the agreement the District reached with the CTUIR on a settlement of the Tribe’s reserved water right claims stemming from its Treaty with the U.S., was reviewed by the Bureau of Reclamation, which started the whole agreement over. The District is continuing settlement discussions with CTUIR. The expenses associated with this work continue to be included in the annual budget.

The Board of Directors has reviewed the final expenses for 2024 and in planning for 2025, have increased this year’s incurred charges. This increase is due to the increased cost of doing business and does not reflect the incurred expenses of the Ordnance Pipeline Project.

We will continue to update the patrons of the District as we move through these processes. If you have questions, please call the District Office.

The Westland Irrigation District annual meeting will be held at 6pm on May 14th, at the OSU Precision Irrigation Agriculture Facility, 2121 S 1st St, Hermiston. Please come join us to hear more about the tribal settlement and the ongoing district improvements. If you would like to join remotely, please contact the District Office at least 24 hours before the meeting for details.

DISTRICT CONTACT INFORMATION

 Office (physical address): 77096 Highway 207, Echo, OR  97826

Office (mailing address): P.O. Box 944, Hermiston, OR  97838

Telephone: 541-667-2030; Fax: 541-667-2031

Office Hours: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday

Website: https://www.westlandirrigation.com

PERSONNEL                                                         DIRECTORS

District Manager, Curtis Engbretson   541-377-2408        Hoss Hodges, Chair

Office Manager, Tina Richardson       541-667-2030       Jordan Bennett, Vice-Chair

Field Supervisor, Bobby Bailey            541-571-1202       Patricia Horn

Maintenance, Steven Cleveland          541-571-1203       Dan McCarty

Ditch Rider, Dennis Whitaker               541-571-1201       Gregory Harris