Eagle Point Irrigation has owned the water right since 1915!
Under Oregon law, the public owns most of the water in the state. Which means landowners with water running past, through, or under their property do not automatically have the right to use it. You will need a permit/water right from the Oregon Water Resources Department . If you want to use the public’s water a water right is needed, regardless of whether the water is surface or ground.
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All districts work a little differently with water use. We operate on a 14 day rotation, distributing flood irrigation once every two weeks. Larger parcels receive additional days of water. Depending on the water situation for the year. Our manager and Board of Directors choose a date for the best time to start the season. Once the date is chosen, we input the start date into our program and it generates the correct times and days you will be getting water for the season.
Flood Irrigation is very simple concept. The picture below shows a bright orange tarp blocking a head of water directing it down the farmers toe ditches dispersing the water through out the whole field. Which allows you to gets 100% of your field watered with your allotted time. In order to get your field watered , your ditches need to be checked for debris or loose grass that could be blocking your flow of water. Once your time is up, you open up the head gate and let the water go to the next property.
This repeats it self all the way down the ditch line to the neighboring properties. Once the water has flowed through the properties needed ,the water will flow back into creeks
Our district constantly has water flowing from April through October. In order to get the water to the correct properties , we have gentleman called ditch riders , who guide the water to specific areas across the district each day , pertaining to the schedules for 500 plus patrons in our district.
Flood Irrigation is very simple concept. The picture below shows a bright orange tarp blocking a head of water directing it down the farmers toe ditches dispersing the water through out the whole field. Which allows you to gets 100% of your field watered with your allotted time. In order to get your field watered , your ditches need to be checked for debris or loose grass that could be blocking your flow of water. Once your time is up, you open up the head gate and let the water go to the next property.
This repeats it self all the way down the ditch line to the neighboring properties. Once the water has flowed through the properties needed ,the water will flow back into creeks
Our district constantly has water flowing from April through October. In order to get the water to the correct properties , we have gentleman called ditch riders , who guide the water to specific areas across the district each day , pertaining to the schedules for 500 plus patrons in our district.
About Irrigation Districts:
Our patrons are based on the water rights of record. We make sure you use water according to the Rules & Regulations. Landowners in our irrigation district do not actually own the water rights; We hold them in trust for the patron of our district.
We have a board of directors consisting of district landowners who typically are elected by other district patrons.
We have three Board of Directors: President, Vice President & Director . Click here for more information.
Oregon landowners with an irrigation district water right (what you have in our district) do not have the authority to move that water to other places on their property, use it in excess of their water right, sell the water right to someone else, or build on top of an irrigation district easement (strips of land along their canals, ditches, and pipelines that are used to manage the delivery of irrigation water). Water-right regulations may vary between states. The irrigation district, and in some cases OWRD, must be consulted on all matters involving changes to the water right or the activity on its easements. Irrigation districts can stop encroachments that interfere with their easements. When in doubt, call your local irrigation district, describe your situation, and ask for their help.
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Rate and Duty:
Water rights generally have two components: rate and duty Rate is the maximum instantaneous flow of water delivered in cubic feet per second or gallons per minute. Duty is the maximum volume allowed per acre per irrigation season. For example, 2 acre-feet is the equivalent of receiving enough water to flood each acre with 2 feet of water. All districts work differently on how water can be used. We operate on a 14 day rotation. You receive flood irrigation once every two weeks. Larger properties receive additional days of water. |