FEATURED ARTICLE

2026 Annual Newsletter

OID is turning 110 this year! As we reflect on our journey through the first quarter of the 21st century, the OID Board and Staff want to wish our patrons and the Crook County community a safe and prosperous 2026. We invite you to attend our Annual Meeting on Monday, January 19th at 12 noon in the OID office.

At this year’s meeting we’ll provide updates on the district’s finances, current reservoir storage, water year outlook, infrastructure modernization projects, as well as operations and maintenance work being completed this non-irrigation season.

We’d like to remind our patrons that under Oregon State Law water rights must be beneficially used every five years. Agricultural irrigation of any kind is considered beneficial use, whether you’re watering grass, alfalfa, pasture, lawns, gardens, or pretty much anything that grows. If you’re not irrigating and would like to keep your water rights protected, another option that is available to you is to lease water instream. The Deschutes River Conservancy will again be offering patrons the opportunity to lease their water instream this season. If you have questions or think you might be interested you can contact the District Office for more information.

The District continues to make significant progress in irrigation modernization. In the Spring of 2025 we completed the IronHorse Piping Project in partnership with the City of Prineville. We are currently in the process of replacing our Relift Pump Station located off Barnes Butte Road. The new pump station is scheduled to be in operation for the start of the 2026 irrigation season. We are also breaking ground this month on the Cox Pump Station and McKay Pipeline project. This new pump station and pipeline will extend approximately 6 miles up McKay Creek to the Wine Down Ranch.

On the weather front we sure haven’t seen much for snow this season. Last year at this time we were conducting flood control operations. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of Winter left to go and our operations staff has worked hard to maintain carryover in our reservoirs. If we even get an average runoff we’ll be in good shape.

We’ll certainly have more to share at the Annual Meeting and we welcome your attendance. Hope to see you there.

Sincerely,
Bruce Scanlon
Ochoco Irrigation District

It is OID’s mission to effectively and efficiently serve the current and future irrigation needs of our patrons by economically operating and maintaining the districts resources with honesty and integrity.