A Deschutes County Commissioner who previously supported Arnold Irrigation District’s plan to convert its open canal to a closed pipe has changed positions and now opposes the multi-million dollar water conservation project.

Patti Adair, one of three county commissioners, says the cost of the project is not worth the water savings and replacing around 12 miles of open canal with a buried pipe will negatively impact properties near the canal.

The piping of the Arnold Canal is intended to conserve water that is lost through seepage into the porous bottom of the canal. Water conserved through the project will help increase allotments for farmers in summer and will boost the water level of the Deschutes River in winter.

But some residents who live near the canal on Bend’s southern fringe oppose the project, saying it will damage the local ecosystem that has grown up around the canal since it was built more than a century ago.

Mature trees that rely on the water seeping into the canal are at risk when the water begins moving through a sealed pipe. Wildlife will also be affected as the water flowing through the open canal will be inaccessible.

The Deschutes River Conservancy, a non-profit, says piping projects like the one Arnold is planning are ultimately better for the environment because they will achieve greater water savings in the Deschutes River — important habitat for threatened fish and frogs.

Opposition to piping

A grassroots group called Save Arnold Canal has filed a lawsuit against Arnold Irrigation District in hopes of canceling the piping project, which was approved by federal agencies in December.

“To pipe it for $43 million seems incredibly excessive,” Adair told The Bulletin. “Their homes will be impacted, their values will be impacted, and it’s four cubic feet a second, which is immaterial.”

Adair was quoting numbers from a 2021 paper written by Central Oregon LandWatch, which was commenting before Arnold had released its final environmental assessment.

Jeremy Austin, the wild lands and water program manager for LandWatch, said changes reflected in the final environmental assessment, released in August 2022, reflect more water conservation for the river.

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“LandWatch supports the changes made to the EA that purport to permanently protect instream the water savings associated with the piping project,” said Austin.

Last week, Adair sent a letter to the office of U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, asking for his support in opposing the piping project. Adair cited Central Oregon LandWatch as a local group opposing the piping plans in the note.

“Even COLW says the Arnold Irrigation project is not appropriate to spend $43 million to accomplish so little and to destroy so much. We had our meeting with so many residents so upset yesterday. Please ask Congressman Bentz to help stop this project,” said the letter, which was obtained by the Bulletin.

Bentz supports piping

In a call with the Bulletin, Bentz said he was not convinced by the points made by Adair.

“I feel badly for the folks whose backyards and vistas are going to be changed by virtue of this necessary improvement to the water distribution system. I don’t want to sound callous because I feel badly for them,” said Bentz. “But here is the deal, I disagree with the commissioner. I am sorry that she reversed her position on this. I have supported this for a long time.”

Bentz said the Arnold project is part of a wider attempt to modernize the water distribution network for the Deschutes Basin, and called it “an integral part” of that effort.

“If you lose one part of it you are in danger of losing it all and that would be a horrible result for your entire basin,” said Bentz. “It would be fatal for ag if we don’t get this pipeline put in and a huge, huge, huge part of the Deschutes Basin economy is driven by some of the incredibly valuable crops that you guys raise over there.”

Opposition to the piping project is a switch for Adair — in June 2021 all three county commissioners signed a letter of support for the piping project.

That letter, sent to Farmer’s Conservation Alliance, described how the piping project would improve water management and reduce seepage loss.

“Am I allowed to change my opinion? (It happens) when you get more information and you realize there is a story there that shouldn’t be washed over,” Adair told The Bulletin.

A second county commissioner, Phil Chang, said he continues to support the project, calling it “necessary for the future viability of Arnold Irrigation District.”

“It will conserve as much water as the City of Bend uses in half a year,” said Chang.

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Tony DeBone, the county’s third commissioner, spoke cautiously about Arnold’s plan to pipe, saying that the project is “not a domain he could make a decision on” and noted that the irrigation districts have a right of way to conduct the piping.

“I support the district and the residents. … Having construction equipment go through there is going to be disconcerting. It’s obvious that’s not what they have ever experienced. But I am not in a position to oppose it,” said DeBone.

Adair said she has invited members of the Save Arnold Canal group to approach the Deschutes County Commission and testify.

“I thought it was important to recognize that they do have a story to tell,” said Adair.

Project will save water

Steve Johnson, the general manager of Arnold Irrigation District, says the piping project is expected to break ground in October with phase one construction of 3.2 miles of buried pipe completed by April 2024.

The construction period will include the removal of trees, as well as excavation of the current canal and the installation of a 48-inch pipe. Once in the ground, the pipe will be covered up and planted with grass and pollinator-friendly plants, said Johnson.

Three additional phases will follow, with the construction wrapping up in 2026.

Johnson said the numbers stated by Adair, in reference to the cost of the project and the water savings, are incorrect. According to updated information, the project is expected to cost $34 million, not $43 million.

As for the project’s water savings, Johnson said by replacing canals with pipes, the district will save 32.5 cubic feet of water per second, far more than the four cfs stated by Adair.

The 32.5 cfs of conserved water will flow to North Unit Irrigation District in the summertime and then North Unit will release an equivalent amount of water in the wintertime from Wickiup Reservoir into the Deschutes River to support wildlife habitat.

“At the time two years ago it was kinda fuzzy on how the districts were going to be doing this but all that has been worked through and that is a framework that is operational and has been approved or acceptable to a number of parties, including Central Oregon LandWatch,” said Johnson. “They just want to make sure that there is accountability for it.

Johnson said he and Arnold board members plan to speak directly to the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners to “clear up misconceptions” about the piping project. That presentation is expected to occur in early June, he said.