Allotment
What is my allotment? How much do I get? How is it determined?
Your annual allotment refers to the amount of water you will receive for a given water season. In a typical year, when the water is available, you will receive 4-acre-feet per acre. The Board of Directors and the Joint Committee of the Owyhee Project meet once a month to discuss the water forecast and determine, based on the weather conditions, snowpack, runoff, and reservoir storage, how much water would be feasible to allocate to our growers for the current season.
Please note: Water users do not pay for irrigation water. Water allotment can and will fluctuate each year. The law articulates that all water within Oregon belongs to the people of the state (ORS 537.110) and water users only have a right to this commodity if there is a beneficial use (ORS 537.120); one example of that is defined as irrigation of crops. For the current water rights to stay valid and not be canceled or removed, irrigation water must be put to beneficial use on all acres with existing water rights within a five (5) year period, or they may be subject to forfeit (ORS 540.610).
Beneficial Use & Confiscation Policy Rev. 1.30.2018.pdf
The District will NOT be mailing out the Water Usage Summaries starting in 2023.
Water users will need to view water usage details through the Customer Portal or contact the office for assistance and/or an alternative option to view water usage data.
Water Users can log into the Customer Portal to view their remaining allotment.
LISTED BELOW IS SOME BASIC INFORMATION ON HOW WATER USAGE IS CALCULATED AND TRACKED
.20 inches = 1 foot of water
4 feet of water = 1 irrigated acre in a 24 hour period
In difficult drought years, Management and the Board of Directors have agreed to allow Temporary Water Allotment Transfers. You are allowed to transfer water allotment from one parcel of property to another, as long as the criteria are met.
A few stipulations are: the ground must be owned or rented/leased with a preexisting agreement, and the transfer cannot exceed one ditch ride.
In the event of a difficult drought year, we will have a form available on this page to apply for a Temporary Water Allotment Transfer. All applications must be submitted before June 15. After this date, the district will no longer be accepting requests.
In normal years when the full allocation of 4-acre-feet per acre is allotted, these transfers will not be accepted.
Temporary Water Allotment Transfer Criteria.pdf
