Flood Control Could Jeopardize Oregon Irrigation

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers efforts to protect the Portland metro area from flooding from melting snow could threaten Eastern Oregon farmers with reduced irrigation.

The corps has emptied storage reservoirs in Idaho and Montana so they can capture the torrents that would be released if a sudden warming spell hit the mountainous regions of the eastern Northwest.

Now the agency has begun to lower the water level behind John Day Reservoir, about 20 miles east of The Dalles. The action would create a last line of defense against flooding in Portland, allowing the corps to capture a surge of water heading downstream.

“Really, you should have the water out of there before you get into trouble,” said Peter Brooks, chief hydrologic engineer of the corps’ North Pacific Division.

But farmers say the plan could jeopardize large farming operations that draw water from the John Day pool and endanger crops valued at $270 million.

If John Day’s level drops sharply, water will be unreachable by all but one of 22 pumps that irrigate 170,000 acres of potatoes, corn, carrots and other crops grown along the river’s arid banks.

Even a week without water would kill tens of thousands of vulnerable plants.

“There is tension in the community,” said Frank Lamb, who farms about 10,000 acres of potatoes, sweet corn, onions and other crops between Hermiston and Boardman. “If they drop the water for a couple of days, it’s not going to be disastrous. If we approach five or six days, we’ll lose our crops.”

The value of crops harvested from the 170,000 acres is about $270 million, said Daryl Olsen, an agricultural economist based in Kennewick.