PORTLAND – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin releasing water from Willow Creek Reservoir in early July in response from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to fulfill emergency contracts for irrigation.

The irrigation contracts call for a total of 3,343 acre-feet of stored water to be applied to 1,241 acres of land. Since Willow Creek Lake has filled to its normal full pool elevation of 2,076.5 feet and the project was authorized for 3,500 acre-feet of storage for future irrigation use, the Corps has determined that the full amount of storage is available.

The release of the stored water will cause an earlier-than-normal drawdown of the reservoir. Depending on irrigators’ needs and weather conditions, the Corps will release at a rate of up to 20 cfs. The drawdown will potentially reduce the size of the reservoir from about 157 acres to about 90 acres by Sept. 30.

An informational meeting is scheduled at 7 p.m., Wednesday, July 9, at the Heppner Elks Lodge, 142 Main St. Representatives from the Corps, Bureau of Reclamation and Oregon Water Resource Department will be present to discuss this year’s emergency water releases and potential impacts, including long-term contract releases.

A final Environmental Impact Statement was issued December 1979. Storage for irrigation was an authorized project purpose; however, impacts of irrigation withdrawal were not addressed because there was not an immediate need for irrigation water.

The Corps began an Environmental Assessment that will be completed before the water release begins.

For more information or to comment, contact Kim Larson at the Corps’ Portland District office, (503) 808-4776 or e-mail to Kim.W.Larson@usace.army.

A drought emergency that was declared in 2001 by then-Governor John Kitzhaber is still in effect. Subsequent to the declaration, the Bureau of Reclamation received requests from irrigators for release of water stored at Willow Creek Reservoir. Without water releases, farmers in the Willow Creek area expect severe economic losses.

A previous drought emergency declared in 1992 led to temporary contracts for irrigation water that year. Irrigation water has not been contracted from Willow Creek Reservoir storage since that time. Should irrigation be proposed as a long-term use, a supplemental information report would be prepared by the Corps to address impacts.

In other water-allocation news, Columbia River sport fishery between Bonneville Dam and The Dalles Dam ended sturgeon retention effective July 7 because the 1,700-fish quota has been met. Catch and release fishing may continue for the remainder of the year.

John Day Dam upstream to the McNary Dam including tributaries (John Day Pool): The retention of sturgeon in John Day Pool currently is allowed. The quota for this area is 165 fish. The daily limit is one sturgeon 48-60 inches.

Consult the 2003 Oregon Sport Fishing Regulations pamphlet for further information for the Columbia River Zone.