For over a century, open-ditch canals have carried water throughout the region’s irrigation districts, but on Friday, work began to modernize those canals by converting them into new piped, pressurized systems that waste less water.

Dozens of people attended a groundbreaking ceremony Friday overlooking a dramatic vista of Smith Rock to celebrate the groundbreaking for the upgraded system. Constructed over the next few years, the work is expected to conserve millions of gallons of Crooked and Deschutes river water, help aquatic species living in and along waterways in the basin, as well as farmers and residents who depend on the area’s underlying water system.

The project is a collaboration between the Arnold, North Unit and Ochoco irrigation districts, the Deschutes Basin Board of Control, the Energy Trust of Oregon, and the Farmers Conservation Alliance, among others. Water that will be saved in one year by the Arnold Irrigation District alone is equivalent to 75% of the current yearly water supply for the city of Bend, said district manager for the Arnold Irrigation District, Steve Johnson.

On Friday, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who played a major role in securing the funding for the project, spoke to an audience about the importance of the new piping project. After the event, he spoke on the matter in the context of Central Oregon’s ongoing concerns about its future water supply.

“What we know is that we have two things that are reducing our water supply,” Merkley told the Spokesman. “The drought and the dropping groundwater. Which means every single drop of irrigation water that is coming down out of the mountains is so precious. And by piping these canals it means a lot less water loss to seepage, and a lot less water loss to evaporation. And the result is that much more gets delivered to the field, and in addition, some of that water helps for the restoration of the ecosystem in the river.”

Merkley said modernization projects like these are a win for both agriculture and conservation. And because the pipes are pressurized, they can also be used to generate renewable energy.

The push for piping projects has come up against opposition to residents who prefer the traditional open-ditch canals citing their aesthetics and benefit to wildlife. Over the summer, two piping projects in Central Oregon racked up court victories after federal judges rejected legal arguments against the upgrades.

Also in attendance on Friday was April Snell, the executive director of the Oregon Water Resources Congress, a Salem-based organization dedicated to promoting water rights and wise stewardship of water resources. Snell said she is also on the rules advisory committee for the Oregon Water Resources Department which is currently updating its groundwater permitting rules.

Snell said the Deschutes River Basin is complicated as far as the nexus between groundwater and surface water is concerned but that the new piping project and projects like it come with certain benefits.

“Projects like these where they are modernizing their system, the primary goal for irrigation districts is ensuring that they have water delivered to their farmers and ranchers,” Snell said. “At the same time as they make those systems more efficient there’s conserved water that comes off of those projects, and there is a lot of need and demand for that water to be put in stream for the benefit of rivers, and the species, and the cultures that rely on that.”

When it comes to the state’s approach to groundwater, Snell said there needs to be a more data driven, science-backed approach when determining if there is groundwater available. She also said piping and groundwater are linked.

“When it comes to domestic wells and irrigation canals, generally speaking, depending on the type of well and the area that it is, if someone’s well dries up after a piping project goes through, then more than likely they were relying on water that they shouldn’t have been relying on in the first place,” Snell said. “The districts are under huge amounts of pressure to pipe their open systems for water conservation purposes and now, at the same time, in talking about these rules, there’s concerns about how those are impacting groundwater.”

Robert Brunoe, the secretary-treasurer and CEO of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, said the new piping system is a welcome development for the Tribes.

“I always remind folks … Warm Springs, we are lower in the system. That means we get our water straight from the Deschutes River, and we want good, clean water,” Brunoe said. “That is very important to us, and always has been, because the first gift the Creator gave us was water, and we are supposed to take care of it. And we have a community that has their needs also.”

Brunoe said the extra water introduced into the system will help recharge the Deschutes aquifer. He said the increased water creates meadows and wetlands that act like sponges, cooling down and filtering the water as well as recharging the system.

“The groundwater for this basis is a priority and is very connected with the surface water because of the fracture and geology here. And so, these piping projects have been really helpful, especially when they started, in getting water and flow back into the streams that we hadn’t seen before,” Brunoe said.

In addition to the ceremonial groundbreaking, the event included a pipe welding demonstration. Merkley also had the honor of using a red hot metal brand, bearing his initials and the date, to brand a section of piping. The senator said he will display the brand in his office in Washington, D.C.