Water League to accomplish even more in ‘24

• Our most recent publication, The Beneficial Use of Water for Posterity, boldly calls for an end to the systemic dewatering of our future by offering numerous solutions that you and others have articulated. We work for you and your grandchildren. Your vision is our action—this is how we pursue our mission to engage the public in water stewardship.

• Water League actively tracked dozens of water-based bills in the 2023 Long Legislative Session and wrote testimony in support and opposition. We are pleased that most of our views aligned with the outcomes and appreciate the excellent work our legislators did to hold water in trust for all of us. We are most pleased with HB 2929, which gives officials the chance to seek emergency injunctions against water theft, and SB 326, which prohibits the use of water rights to irrigate unlicensed cannabis plants resulting from the rampant water theft by organized crime syndicates. Water League pressed for these reforms here and here.

• Water League substantially participated in the Rules Advisory Committee for Oregon’s Critical Groundwater Areas, ensuring that the most water-tight rules would help implement and enforce the statutes protecting against the permanent destruction of our depleted aquifers. Water League is also tracking and submitting testimony on other groundwater rule-making efforts currently underway.

• Water League has supported the best possible update to Oregon’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS) by ensuring that public input and interest are at the forefront of the process. We’ll keep you up-to-date as the IWRS enters a formal public comment period.

1) Promote Basin Districts, (scroll down to view Appendix A here) throughout the state in support of place-based water use planning in each of Oregon’s 19 basins;

2) Acknowledge the Rights of Nature for hydrologically-connected river systems throughout the state;

3) Advocate for the beneficial use of water in the 2024 Short Legislative Session and strategize policies for the 2025 Long Legislative Session;

4) Support the implementation and enforcement of water laws to prevent water theft and other forms of misappropriation of water;

5) Support municipalities navigating their way through long-term water plans, source water protection plans, stormwater management plans, and efforts to reduce pressure on sewage treatment plants; 

6) Participate in rule-making and statewide planning to balance substantial agricultural water uses with the limited capacity remaining in aquifers and streams.