The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Raise the Deschutes is a series of free monthly seminars being presented over the coming year by the Deschutes River Conservancy, to help educate the public about water management in Central Oregon.

The next seminar, scheduled for Wednesday, August 17, is titled “Whose Water is it Anyway? Water Rights 101,” and will focus on water rights in the Deschutes Basin. The subject of water, its scarcity in certain areas of the basin, and how to equitably share it, gives rise to consideration of how best to manage the water that is here.

As the entire area continues to grow, demands are being placed on the aquifers and surface water, and water rights have become a hot topic. For some people moving here from metropolitan areas, the concept of water rights is unfamiliar and, therefore, not considered important until their well goes dry.

Seminar attendees will have the opportunity to hear from water experts who will discuss water supply, river hydrology, climate change, canal piping, and water conservation options.

The August 17 seminar will be held at the Open Space Event Studios at 220 NE Lafayette Avenue in Bend, 6 to 8 p.m. The seminar will also be live-streamed. Sign-up is available at raisethedeschutes.org.

The website also contains a link to watch the first seminar in the series titled What’s Going on with Our Rivers? Hydrology and Water Management in the Upper Deschutes Basin.