Overview
OWRD is taking steps to reduce groundwater level declines within the Harney Basin. The Department will post all information about activities on this page as it becomes available.
OWRD Activities in Harney Basin
You can find information about allotment and the contested case process here.
Critical Groundwater Area
690-512-0041
Harney Basin Critical Groundwater Area
(1) The target groundwater level trend within the Harney Basin Critical Groundwater Area is a median groundwater level decline rate of no more than zero feet per year over a six-year period when calculated as described in OAR 690-512-0080(7).
(2) The Department may access any well within the critical groundwater area that is authorized as a point of appropriation on a valid water right for the purpose of implementing these rules. The Department will provide notice to the groundwater right holder, well owner, or well operator prior to accessing the well.
(3) A review of the Harney Basin Critical Groundwater Area rules shall be completed once every three years. The review shall be presented at a public meeting held within the basin at which written and oral public comments shall be accepted. The review and a summary of public comments received shall then be presented at a Commission meeting which has been publicly noticed and provides opportunity for public comment.
(4) A review of the conditions in the Harney Basin Critical Groundwater area shall be completed no less frequently than once every 10 years. The review shall be presented at a public meeting held within the basin at which written and oral public comment shall be accepted. The review and a summary of public comments received shall then be presented at a Commission meeting which has been publicly noticed and provides opportunity for public comment.
(5) Except as defined in OAR 690-512-0030(2) Classifications, the Department will not accept new applications for groundwater permits within the Harney Basin Critical Groundwater Area.
(6) The Harney Basin Critical Groundwater area defined in OAR 690-512-0020(7) shall be divided into seven subareas for the implementation of corrective control provisions as shown in Exhibit 6.
(a) The Dog Mountain subarea is shown in Exhibit 7;
(b) The Lower Blitzen-Voltage subarea is shown in Exhibit 8;
(c) The Northeast-Crane subarea is shown in Exhibit 9;
(d) The Silver Creek subarea is shown in Exhibit 10;
(e) The Silvies subarea is shown in Exhibit 11;
(f) The Upper Blitzen subarea is shown in Exhibit 12;
(g) The Weaver Springs subarea is shown in Exhibit 13.
(7) For water rights that include authorized points of appropriation in multiple subareas, the Department will determine which subarea contains the majority of those points of appropriation. The water right will be subject to the rules applicable to that subarea.
(8) The following water rights shall not be subject to corrective controls that result in groundwater use reductions:
(a) Exempt groundwater uses as defined in ORS 537.545;
(b) Municipal and quasi-municipal groundwater rights;
(c) Any state-issued groundwater rights or federal reserved groundwater claims held by a federally recognized Indian tribe.
Serious Water Management Problem Area
690-512-0110
Serious Water Management Problem Area (SWMPA)
(1) Groundwater conditions within the SWMPA boundary defined in OAR 690-512-0020(3) meet the criteria defined in OAR 690-085-0020(1)(a) and OAR 690-085-0020(1)(f).
(2) Any state-issued groundwater rights or federally reserved groundwater claims held by a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe are exempt from the requirements of this rule.
(3) By March 1, 2028, each groundwater right holder, well owner, or well operator shall install a totalizing flow meter in accordance with manufacturer specifications on each well listed as a point of appropriation on a valid groundwater right within the Harney SWMPA boundary as defined in OAR 690-512-0020(3). The Department may extend the deadline as needed. If the deadline is extended, the Department will notify each groundwater right holder, well owner, or well operator at least 60 days before March 1, 2028.
(4) Totalizing flow meters and the method of flow meter installation may be subject to approval by Department staff. Once installed, totalizing flow meters must be maintained in good working order. Department staff shall have reasonable access to the totalizing flow meters upon request pursuant to ORS 537.780(1)(e).
(5) The groundwater right holder, well owner, or well operator shall keep a complete record of the volume of water appropriated each month. The groundwater right holder, well owner, or well operator shall submit annually a report that includes water use measurements to the Department by December 31 of each calendar year for water used between November 1st of the preceding year and October 31st of the current year. Reports shall be submitted using a form developed and maintained by the Department.
(6) A totalizing flow meter shall meet the following specifications:
(a) A totalizing flow meter shall have a rated accuracy of plus or minus 2 percent of actual flow for all flow rates for which the meter is expected to measure;
(b) A totalizing flow meter shall measure the entire discharge from the well;
(c) A totalizing flow meter shall have a visual display and shall be equipped with a sweep hand or digital readout so that instantaneous flow rate can be read;
(d) The totalizing part of the flow meter shall have sufficient capacity to record at minimum the quantity of water authorized to be pumped over a period of 2 years. Units of water measurement shall be in acre-feet, cubic-feet, or gallons, and the totalizer shall read directly in one of these units. Flow meters recording in acre-feet shall, at a minimum, read to the nearest 1/10th acre-foot, and the decimal multiplier shall be clearly indicated on the face of the register head;
(e) Totalizers on each meter shall not be field reset without notice to and written permission from the local watermaster. Prior to resetting the totalizers, the final reading must be recorded and reported;
(f) The totalizing flow meter shall be installed in accordance with all manufacturer specifications. There shall be no turnouts or diversions between the well and the flow meter; and
(g) The totalizing flow meter shall be installed no more than 100 feet from the well head unless an exception is approved by the watermaster in writing.
(7) A water user shall report broken flow meters to the local watermaster’s office within 48 hours after determining that the flow meter is broken. A water user shall not appropriate water for more than 60 days without an operating flow meter.
(8) While the flow meter is broken, the water user shall use other methods of reporting as defined under OAR 690-085-0015(5) until the flow meter is replaced or repaired. The water user shall keep the monthly data and mail the data to the local watermaster upon request. The data shall include a statement of the initial reading on the newly installed flow meter, the current power meter reading and the time of operation. The water user shall notify the local watermaster within 48 hours of installing the repaired or replacement flow meter.
(9) Failure to have and maintain a properly installed, functioning totalizing flow meter by the deadline will result in the local watermaster regulating and controlling the unmetered well such that no groundwater may be pumped or appropriated until a flow meter is installed consistent with these rules.
(10) Groundwater wells that are regulated off and disconnected from all water use infrastructure including power and plumbing do not require a totalizing flow meter to be installed or to report water use unless or until use is permitted to resume.
(11) Any governmental entity required to submit water use reports under OAR 690-085 is exempt from the reporting requirements of this rule.
(12) Consistent with ORS 536.900, ORS 183.745, and OAR 690-260, the Department may assess civil penalties for violation of these rules.
Place-Based Planning
A product of OWRD’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy, the Harney Community-Based Water Planning (CBWP) Collaborative is undertaking a place-based approach to water resources planning. This group of farmers, ranchers, business-people, government officials, tribal members, landowners, conservationists and other interests have been working together to gather information, identify strategies, and determine in-stream and out-of-stream water resources needs to help develop solutions that will meet those needs now and into the future.
For more general information, click this link: https://harneyswaterfuture.com/
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