Senator Jeff Merkley celebrates the completion of the Watson Hydroelectric Facility with Marc Thalacker, manager of the Three Sisters Irrigation District. |
"For the first time since the late 1800s, there was summertime flow in Whychus Creek for salmon and steelhead. We have 25 percent more water on farm compared to the 1977 drought, and we are generating clean, green, renewable power and conserving energy," said Marc Thalacker, district manager, Three Sisters Irrigation District. "Cooperation and collaboration by a wide variety of Central Oregon stakeholders made it possible for us to achieve these significant changes."
Over the last 10 years, the District leveraged more than $15 million in grant funds for more than $25 million in irrigation modernization projects. For the Watson plant, support included a $1-million cash incentive from Energy Trust. "Other Oregon irrigation districts will benefit from the many benefits demonstrated through the Three Sisters Irrigation District project," said Peter West, director of energy programs, Energy Trust. "Energy Trust will continue to support these projects, including an additional investment of $1 million in support of irrigation modernization planning in the Deschutes Basin starting in 2016."
Three Sisters Irrigation District's success has been magnified through a Bridging the Headgates partnership between the Natural Resource Conservation Service and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The Deschutes River Conservancy helped the District secure grants through multiple sources over the 10-year effort, including the Pelton Fund, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and many others. Three Sisters Irrigation District received a $1-million grant from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's WaterSMART program that helped fund the hydroelectric facility.
Revenues from the Watson Hydroelectric Facility will help pay back a loan from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Clean Water State Revolving Fund that financed an earlier piping project.
See also:
"OR wastewater treatment plant first in Northwest to achieve net-zero-energy status"
"OR water, electric utility improves customer service with communication network"
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