HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-167 Intergovernmental Agreement Emergency Use of Water from Reeder Reservoir Intergovernmental Agreement
Date: March 11, 2019
Subject: Emergency Use of Water from Reeder Reservoir for Fire Suppression
Parties: City of Ashland, Oregon
Southwest Oregon District, Oregon Department of Forestry
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, USDA Forest Service
The intent of this document is to provide a framework to establish a mutually agreeable protocol
between the City of Ashland (City), the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest (Forest Service), and
the Southwest District of the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) for the emergency use of water
from Reeder Reservoir. This cooperation is intended to serve the mutual interests for fire suppression
and the preservation of municipal water quality for the City, ODF, Forest Service, and the public.
It is recognized that the Forest Service and ODF use of water from Reeder Reservoir is exempt from
water right application, permit, or certification under Oregon Revised Statutes (Chapter 537); a copy is
attached to this document. The attachment lists the various benefits and responsibilities inherent to
the Forest Service and ODF in the exercise of such usage.
It is further recognized that federal and state use of water from Reeder Reservoir during fire
emergencies is a necessity to protect human life, property, and the Ashland Creek Watershed. There
is a responsibility for all agencies to work cooperatively to expedite such usage in the most efficient
and environmentally sensitive manner possible.
Water utilized for fire suppression may be withdraw by helicopter(fixed tank or bucket), by water
tender, or by pumping directly into hoselays.
When it is necessary for the Forest Service and/or ODF to use water from Reeder Reservoir, it is
agreed that the agency utilizing water will:
1. Withdraw water for emergency firefighting uses only;
2. Provide the City as much advanced notice as possible of the intent to draw water from the
reservoir. There may be situations that necessitate notification after water from the reservoir is
being used;
3. Identify the purpose for the water usage and accompanying responsibilities in accordance with
the previously mentioned attachment;
4. Assign a qualified employee to monitor and record withdrawals from the reservoir and to
ensure all such operations conform to approved Federal and State safety requirements; and
5. Use effective disinfectant measures that ensure that all water conveyance structures
contacting the reservoir are free from any waterborne invasive species.
When the Forest Service and/or ODF needs to utilize water from Reeder Reservoir, the City will:
1. Provide for expedited access to the reservoir;
2. Coordinate public access restrictions that may affect adjacent City property during the period
of emergency use; and
3. Cooperate fully with the Forest Service and ODF in facilitating the aforesaid operations.
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Process:
The following process will be used when it is necessary to withdraw water from Reeder Reservoir for
emergency firefighting activities:
1. A designated Forest Service or ODF (Agency) representative will contact the Water Treatment
Facility Manager named below. Contact will be made as soon as practical, but, depending on
the emergency, may be made after the fact.
2. A designated Forest Service or ODF representative will contact the City of Ashland Fire Chief
who will in turn notify the Public Works Director.
3. While on site, Agency personnel will be in uniform or wear standard wildland firefighting
Personal Protective Equipment (Nomex shirt, fire pants).
4. The Agency will monitor and record loads by bucket or tank size so gallons withdrawn can be
determined.
5. Monitor for any action that may contaminate the reservoir.
6. If contamination occurs, immediately contact the Water Treatment Facility Manager.
7. In the event of accident or injury, immediately notify Dispatch.
8. The Forest Service or ODF will initiate daily communication with the Public Works Director
regarding quantity of water withdrawn to balance municipal water needs in times of drought.
9. For the Forest Service, withdrawal records will be sent to the Siskiyou Mountains District
Ranger and the City of Ashland Public Works Director. ODF withdrawal records will be sent to
the District Forester and City of Ashland Public Works Director. Copies of all records will be
maintained in the official fire records package.
Contacts:
Forest Service:
Donna Mickley, District Ranger, Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District: Office: 541-899-3810,
Cell: 541-864-0900
Rob Marshall, Fire Mgmt. Officer, Siskiyou Mountains Ranger District: Office: 541-899-3865,
Cell: 541-580-5915
Oregon Department of Forestry:
Dave Larson, SW Oregon District Forester: Office: 541-664-3328, Cell: 541-621-4101
Lee Winslow, Medford Unit Forester: Office: 541-664-3328, Cell: 541-621-4110
Taylor Wilkerson, Wildland Fire Supervisor: Office: 541-664-3328, Cell: 541-621-4120
City of Ashland:
Greg Hunter, Water Treatment Facility Manager Office: 541-488-5345, Cell: 541-531-1916
Mike D'Orazi, Fire Chief: Office: 541-552-2217, Cell: 510-755-7001
Chris Chambers, Forest Division Chief: Office: 541-552-2066 Cell: 541-890-8816
Paula Brown, Public Works Director Office: 541-552-2411, Cell: 541-941-9066
This protocol takes effect once signed by all parties and will remain in effect until December 31, 2028,
unless terminated with a 60-day notice by one of the parties.
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MERV GEORGE, Forest Supervisor
Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
-i,
DAVE LARSON, District Forester
Southwest District, Oregon Department of Forestry
KELLY MADDING, administrator
City of Ashland
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2017 ORS 537.141
Uses of water not requiring water right application, permit or certificate
(1) The following water uses do not require an application under ORS 537.130 (Permit to appropriate
water required) or 537.615 (Application for permit to acquire new right or enlarge existing right to
appropriate ground water), a water right permit under ORS 537.211 (Issuance of permit if application
approved) or a water right certificate under ORS 537.250 (Water right certificate):
(a) Emergency fire-fighting uses;
(b) Nonemergency fire-fighting training, provided:
(A) The source of the water is existing storage and the use occurs with permission of
the owner of the stored water; or
(B) If the source of water is other than existing storage, the use occurs with the prior
written approval of the watermaster in the district where the training will take place and
subject to any conditions the watermaster determines are necessary to prevent injury
to existing water rights and to protect in-stream resources;
(c) Water uses that divert water to water tanks or troughs from a reservoir for a use allowed
under an existing water right permit or certificate for the reservoir;
(d) Fish screens, fishways and fish by-pass structures, as exempted by rule of the Water
Resources Commission;
(e) Land management practices intended to save soil and improve water quality by temporarily
impeding or changing the natural flow of diffuse surface water across agricultural lands when
storage of public waters is not an intended purpose. Such practices include but are not limited
to:
(A) Terraces;
(B) Dikes;
(C) Retention dams and other temporary impoundments; and
(D) Agronomic practices designed to improve water quality and control surface runoff
to prevent erosion, such as ripping, pitting, rough tillage and cross slope farming;
(f) Livestock watering operations that comply with the requirements under subsections
(2) and (3) of this section;
(g) Forest management activities that require the use of water in conjunction with
mixing pesticides as defined in ORS 634.006 (Definitions), or in slash burning;
(h) The collection of precipitation water from an artificial impervious surface and the
use of such water;
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•
(i) Land application of ground water so long as the ground water:
(A) Has first been appropriated and used under a permit or certificate issued
under ORS 537.625 (Final order) or 537.630 (Time allowed for construction
work under permit) for a water right issued for industrial purposes or a water
right authorizing use of water for confined animal feeding purposes;
(B) Is reused for irrigation purposes and the period of irrigation is a period
during which the reused water has never been discharged to the waters of the
state; and
(C) Is applied pursuant to a permit issued by the Department of Environmental
Quality or the State Department of Agriculture under either ORS 468B.050
(Water quality permit) to construct and operate a disposal system or ORS
468B.215 (Fees) to operate a confined animal feeding operation; and
(j) Surface mining practices that result in the removal of water from a surface mine subject to
an operating permit or reclamation plan approved by the State Department of Geology and
Mineral Industries, unless the water is used for a subsequent beneficial use.
(2) The use of surface water for livestock watering may be exempted under subsection (1) of this
section if:
(a) The water is diverted from a stream or other surface water source to a trough or tank
through an enclosed water delivery system;
(b) The delivery system either is equipped with an automatic shutoff or flow control mechanism
or includes a means for returning water to the surface water source through an enclosed
delivery system; and
(c) The operation is located on land from which the livestock would otherwise have legal
access to both the use and source of the surface water source.
(3) If the diversion system described in subsection (2) of this section is located within or above a
scenic waterway, the amount of water that may be used without a water right is limited to one-tenth of
one cubic foot per second per 1,000 head of livestock. Nothing in this section shall prevent the Water
Resources Commission from approving an application for a water right permit for a delivery system
not qualifying under subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The Water Resources Department, in conjunction with local soil and water conservation districts,
the Oregon State University Extension Service, the State Department of Agriculture and the State
Department of Fish and Wildlife and any other organization interested in participating, shall develop
and implement a voluntary educational program on livestock management techniques designed to
keep livestock away from streams and riparian areas.
(5) To qualify for an exempt use under subsection (1)(g) of this section, the user shall:
(a) Submit notice of the proposed use, including the identification of the proposed water
source, to the Water Resources Department and to the State Department of Fish and Wildlife
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at the time notice is provided to other affected agencies pursuant to ORS 527.670
(Commencement of operations); and
(b) Comply with any restrictions imposed by the department pertaining to sources of water that
may not be used in conjunction with the proposed activity.
(6) Except for the use of water under subsection (1)(i) of this section, the Water Resources
Commission by rule may require any person or public agency diverting water as described in
subsection (1) of this section to furnish information with regard to such water and the use thereof. For
a use of water described in subsection (1)(i) of this section, the Department of Environmental Quality
or the State Department of Agriculture shall provide to the Water Resources Department a copy of the
permit issued under ORS 468B.050 (Water quality permit) or 468B.215 (Fees) authorizing the land
application of ground water for reuse. The permit shall provide the information regarding the place of
use of such water and the nature of the beneficial reuse. [1993 c.595 §3; 1995 c.184 §1; 1995 c.274
§9a; 1995 c.537 §2; 1995 c.752 §7; 1997 c.199 §1; 1997 c.244 §2; 1999 c.335 §1; 2001 c.248 §11;
2003 c.470 §4; 2007 c.189 §1]
Note: 537.141 (Uses of water not requiring water right application, permit or certificate) was added to
and made a part of ORS chapter 537 by legislative action but was not added to any smaller series
therein. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
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