Board Meetings and Agenda

Updated monthly

The February Board Meeting will be held at the District office at 1:30 p.m.  on Thursday, February 9, 2023

The meetings are open to the public. Please contact us at least one week in advance if you plan to attend and/or you have something to present to the Board so that we can place you on the agenda. Agenda click here  https://www.rrvid.org/board-meeting-agenda/

A LETTER FROM OUR DISTRICT MANAGER, AUGUST 9, 2022

We are doing our best at RRVID to make continued water deliveries and keep everyone on their rotations. We would like to express our sincere thanks to our Water Patrons for all of your patience and support as we navigate through another year of low water amounts.

With all of the continued cooperation and everyone doing their part, I believe that I can now get us to September 9^th.  Please remember this is only an estimated shut off date. With today being August 9^th, that September date is still a month out – there are a lot of variables and unforeseen circumstances to be mindful of, such as continued extreme hot temperatures, loss of what I am predicting flow in the creeks to be etc.

Like you, I am ready for these drought conditions to be over and have the water flow normally again.  My hope is that next irrigation season this will happen, but if it doesn’t, I assure you that we will again do all that we can with what we have to work with, just as we have this season.

Thank you all again for your understanding.  Let’s hope for snow in the mountains this Winter and another very wet Spring in the Valley.

Sincerely,

Brian Hampson – RRVID District Manager

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*** April 19, 2022 IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE JACKSON COUNTY WATERMASTER, SHAVON HAYNES***

Governor Brown signed the drought declaration on April 7, 2022 for Jackson County.

This is the link to some water right resources that can be made available for water users that are impacted by the drought.  Also, this is a link to the OWRD drought page where other resources are available.    

Update for October 19, 2021:  We have added a very informative, 2 page article about the Joint System Canal Piping Project between Rogue River Valley Irrigation District and Medford Irrigation District and our many Project Partners.  Please click on the link below to open the pages.

https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:0af992b2-e265-4afe-806b-391b10d8c9ec

We are now taking credit and debit cards!

For your convenience we are set up to take your payment over the phone and in our office!  The fee for this convenience is .016 for debit and .026 for credit. This fee is calculated based on the amount of your payment.

• For example:
• A payment of $285.49 using a debit card will have a fee of .016
• $285.49 x .016 = $4.57 Fee for a debit card transaction
• A payment of $285.49 using a credit card will have a fee of .026
• $285.49 x .026 = $7.42 Fee for a credit card transaction.
  

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View current reservoir levels at the

 US Bureau of Reclamation Website

02/26/2021 Update on the

Environmental Water Right Protection Assessment (EWRPA)

As we are always working on protecting the water in the valley, so that we can protect your water, we have had to extend the EWRPA (Environmental Water Right Protection Assessment). Please see the attachment that shows the Resolution decided upon by our Board of Directors.

EWRPA Extension

Where does organic matter come from and how can farms of all sizes increase soil organic matter? Adding organic matter to soil begins through development of regenerative agricultural practices.

Regenerative agriculture depends upon doing the following:

• keeping living (green) material in the soil around the year as much as practicable. For most farmers this can initially be achieved by initially introducing straw, manure, leaf mulch etc., and/or longer-term growing cover crops (green manure) then lightly tilling the cover crops in to a shallow soil surface.
• keeping a cover residue of living/dead plant material on the soil surface at all times
• reducing (preferably eliminating) plowing and tillage practices (minimize soil disturbances)
• withholding use of synthetic chemical pesticides as much as practicable
• optionally introducing livestock to increase economic and biological diversity (sheep, poultry, goats, beef, etc).

https://agfundernews.com/regenerative-agriculture-is-getting-more-mainstream-but-how-scalable-is-it.html

The overall documented suggestions are to use some/all of the practices of regenerative agriculture to increase soil organic matter (SOM).  The SOM improves soil ecosystem health that has a much stronger water holding capacity.  Growers then can keep an eye on their crops and/or use probes to measure soil moisture. There are many places where soil moisture probes can be obtained through the internet for less than $100.  Growers with soil containing increased SOM will be able to reduce irrigation frequency and amounts.

Neighbors could share one probe.

To get started this year on increasing SOM, a normally slow process, growers can add straw to their topsoil.  Purchase the cheapest straw available, generally free from contaminating seeds, and apply as much as is practicable to the topsoil. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lara-bryant/organic-matter-can-improve-your-soils-water-holding-capacity

Obviously growing cover crops and leaving plant residues will be less expensive but this takes time to significantly increase SOM.  In the Fall, leaves are generally a free source of plant organic matter to add to topsoil. This plant source might be mainly applicable to smaller farms and backyard gardens.

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Please click on this link to view a very informative Story Map Presentation of: The Bradshaw Drop Piping Project!

https://rvcog.maps.arcgidf9e4s.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=96b28bc544a94055bc0fc366cdb

February 7, 2019

Letter from the Manager

Update on the piping project:  RRVID has been working on installing 3.2 miles of 48″ HDPE fusion welded pipe on part of our system between HWY 140 and Antelope Creek.  This will put approximately 40 to 42 pounds of pressure to the farm with hopes of eliminating pumping cost.  This is the first of what we hope to be, the beginning of modernizing RRVID.  So far RRVID has been able to do all of this work through Grant dollars and State funds that we acquired before starting the project.

In closing, let’s continue to hope that we start seeing more snow in our mountains so that our reservoirs continue to fill before Spring and the beginning of water season.  Please continue to check back on our website to see the date that water season will begin for 2019 and other important information.

Sincerely,

Brian Hampson   District Manager/Secretary

Thanks for Pipeline Funding

The Rogue River Valley Irrigation District is pleased to report that we have received the needed additional funding from the Oregon Legislature to install the Bradshaw Drop Piping Project. We plan on starting to lay pipe later this year and should be finished in 2019.

We want to especially recognize Rep. Pam Marsh for all the assistance she provided in getting the funding restored after our project’s funding was initially approved but then canceled last year. Rep. Marsh worked tirelessly to help communicate the benefits of the project to the leadership of the Legislature as well as the governor’s office in addition to working across the aisle to reach broad bipartisan support for our project.

We also want to thank the environmental groups, local municipalities and agricultural producer organizations among other various local entities whose support was integral to showing that this project had wide-ranging benefits for Southern Oregon.

Brian Hampson, RRVID District Manager

Bryan Baumgartner, Board President

Larry Martin, Board Member

Gerald May, Board Member

RRVID was successful in obtaining $1,895,000.00 from the Oregon General Fund to put toward the Bradshaw Drop Piping Project.  We now believe we  have all of the funding in place to put 3.3 miles of open canal  into pressure rated pipe.  RRVID will be making two stream crossings within the in-stream work period between June 15th and September 15th of 2018.  We will then start putting the rest of the canal in pipe after the 2018 irrigation season has ended which will be around the 1st of October.

Click here for information regarding the Bradshaw Drop Project.

The Board of Directors and Management of the Rogue River Irrigation District are pleased to announce that we have entered into a grant agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation to pipe an approximately 1.2 mile section of the Hopkins Canal from Spring Creek to Antelope Creek. RRVID is also looking to obtain additional grant funding for a connected canal piping project that would allow us to provide pressurized water to our patrons along piped sections of the current Hopkins Canal to Bradshaw Drop. We are also partnering with the Jackson Soil and Water Conservation District (JSWD) to look at opportunities for our patrons to receive assistance in converting from flood to sprinkle irrigation systems. We are excited about the benefits this project will have for our District and its patrons.

For more information click here

View current reservoir levels at the US Bureau of Reclamation Website

Any water user who owns and/or leases irrigated land totaling 40.1 or more acres west of the Mississippi River must annually (or more often) file RRA forms with the District office prior to receiving irrigation water.

If your landholdings change in any way during the irrigation season, which includes, but not limited to: moving your property into a trust or the passing of one or more of the property owners, then it is imperative that you contact the District office to update your RRA forms.