NYSSA, Ore. (AP) - Eastern Oregon farmers who figured this winter's heavy snows would mean an abundance of irrigation water this spring and summer figured wrong.
     
A cold, dry spring has kept the water from running off and getting stored in reservoirs, weather forecasters and water managers say.
     
"Much of the water has been lost to the acquifer, and it doesn't get back into the stream," said Jay Chamberlin, manager of the Owyhee Irrigation District.
     
"The flush is gone," he said. "We have missed that."
     
The winter brought heavy snows that had a high water content, giving farmers hope that reservoirs would be full as they got started with field work this spring.
     
But April weather conditions in the region along the Oregon-Idaho border, while not breaking any records, were consistently cold and dry.
     
April had 22 days of below normal temperatures, said National Weather Service forecaster Larry Olt, and, "We didn't get any moisture to speak of." The month was the fifth-driest on record, he said.
     
Earlier this week, Owyhee Reservoir was at 64 percent full in usable storage, Warm Springs 36 percent, Beulah at 64 percent and Bully Creek at 85 percent full.
     
Chamberlain said the weather conditions will result in strong flows in streams, but that's not a substitute for large volumes of water held back in reservoirs.
     
But, he said, as temperatures climb and the skies remain clear, irrigators will be calling for more water, and he's seeing evidence of that.
     
"Everything is ramping up so fast," he said.

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