A young Great Blue Heron watches the surface of Taylor Lake in December, waiting for breakfast to swim by. While rivers run through the Gorge, more than 30 people are without water in Wasco County due to dry wells.
A young Great Blue Heron watches the surface of Taylor Lake in December, waiting for breakfast to swim by. While rivers run through the Gorge, more than 30 people are without water in Wasco County due to dry wells.
THE DALLES — In 2024, Oregon’s legislature set aside $1 million in grants to reimburse residents who repaired or replaced a dry well. Oregon’s Water Resources Department reported1,200 wells now without water across the state, particularly in Jackson, Klamath and Deschutes counties where groundwater is rapidly declining.
Drake Gilbert, the watershed coordinator for Wasco County’s Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), has been tracking how this crisis has impacted the Gorge community, hearing from residents with wells that have recently run dry.
“Between Fifteenmile, Mosier, and Rowena, upwards of 30 people are currently without water, which is concerning to me.”
While managing a host of various natural resource projects, Wasco County SWCD has been laser-focused this year on the county’s groundwater crisis.
In an annual report at a Dec. 4 county board meeting, Gilbert delved into the department’s projects, beginning by acknowledging the passing of Assistant Manager Josh Thompson in a car accident last year.
Gilbert paid tribute to Thompson’s impactful service, noting his commitment and initiative.
“Josh was hugely important to conservation in Wasco County,” he said. “It’s been tough.”
New cluster of dry wells
Groundwater issues dominated the report, with several regions of Wasco County facing dire circumstances. The SWCD has focused extensive work on the Mosier watershed to repair wells and improve irrigation efficiency.
“We’ve repaired four wells in the watershed — three domestic and one irrigation well. We plan to repair two more wells next summer, using the remaining funds from our second round of commingling well repair funding,” Gilbert said.
However, while the Mosier area has seen notable improvements, a new crisis has emerged in Rowena.
“There’s a new cluster of dry wells in the Rovio Wilds area near Sevenmile Hill,” Gilbert said. “Nineteen residents are now without water up that way.”
Gilbert explained the geological features in this region isolate the water table, meaning that repair efforts in Mosier will not alleviate Rowena’s challenges.
The human toll of the water crisis is severe. Gilbert shared troubling accounts: “I’ve heard some scary stories of people who thought they had 40 feet left in their well and thought they had years, only to find them dry within months.”
With the skyrocketing costs of well drilling, many residents are left with few options.
The red dots on the above map indicate a dry well location as of January 2024.
Contributed graphic
Some groundwater recovery, slow and steady
Despite these challenges, the Mosier watershed has seen progress, particularly in its shallowest Pomona aquifer, where most of the residents draw their water.
Since 2019, the department has been shifting properties that consume bigger volumes of water, such as larger farms, onto deep wells that tap different aquifers.
“You can actually see a drastic recovery in that Pomona aquifer from putting larger water users on the deeper part of the system,” Gilbert said. “So that’s been promising.”
Other aquifers in the region, such as the Priest Rapids and Frenchman Springs, are also showing incremental signs of recovery.
“We’re seeing a slow but steady positive trend in water levels,” Gilbert noted.
Hydrogeologists monitoring the situation have attributed these gains to the department’s well repair efforts.
The department also celebrated the completion of a significant restoration project on Chenoweth Creek.
This initiative included the placement of large woody debris to reconnect a historic side channel and stabilize the creek’s banks.
“This project addresses both ecological and human needs,” Gilbert said. “The debris placement helps prevent erosion near public trails while enhancing habitat for fish and other wildlife.”
Water budget study on Fifteenmile Creek
One of the most ambitious projects discussed during the meeting is a planned comprehensive water budget study for the Fifteenmile Creek basin. The study aims to account for every molecule of water entering and exiting the system.
“We’ll be installing additional stream gauging stations at strategic locations and quantifying evapotranspiration and evaporative losses from vegetation,” Gilbert said. He noted additional metering and monitoring of a section of the creek near Boyd where nearly half the water is lost in the subsurface for an unknown reason.
This study is particularly critical as Fifteenmile Creek has experienced drastic year-over-year declines in water levels since the 1980s.
The report also touched on an experimental project, which was unsuccessful. The department attempted to use surface water to replenish groundwater in Fifteenmile Creek.
“The basin sealed off, likely due to pneumatic compression that created a clay layer,” Gilbert described. “We’re working with researchers from Oregon State University to identify solutions and avoid similar issues in the future.”
He said potential solutions include using filtered sediment or inline canister filters to improve infiltration rates.
Restoration projects need more funding
Additional restoration projects are in the pipeline, though funding remains a challenge.
A proposed project to address an eroding bank near The Dalles Riders Club property was not funded due to concerns about its scale.
Gilbert indicated that combining this project with restoration work on county-owned land could improve its chances of securing grants.
Commissioners raised the question of whether state-level emergency relief could address the water crisis.
Gilbert acknowledged that initial discussions with the Oregon Department of Emergency Management have taken place but noted significant logistical hurdles.
“There isn’t a local water-hauling entity with the necessary equipment or licensing to meet the current demand,” he explained. “Community partnerships could help fill this gap if funding becomes available.”
Commissioner Brady suggested exploring collaborations with state agencies, citing successful relief efforts in Klamath County. “We should reach out to Sheridan McClellan and other state contacts to see if resources can be mobilized for Wasco County,” Brady recommended.
McLellan is Wasco County’s Emergency Management Services Manager with the sheriff’s office.
Gilbert emphasized SWCD’s need for additional resources and support.
“We’ve got limited resources to help folks out, so we’ve got to do it on a priority basis, on which wells are going to provide the most good to the community from a scientific standpoint,” he said.
For more updates on the county’s conservation efforts, visit the Wasco County SWCD website or attend monthly board meetings, now held on the second Wednesday of each month.
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