Fish at center of debate whether health, education bills advance

ALONG THE COLUMBIA RIVER – Farmers and fish could play a role in the fight to reform education and health care in Oregon.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber wants to reform education and health care in the state but two of his bills remain stalled because Republicans say they want to focus on creating jobs first.

One plan is to take more water out of the Columbia River. Farmers could then tap into that water to grow more crops. Supporters say that could create 1,400 new agriculture jobs.

If Republicans in the state Legislature can get help from Democrats on House Bill 4101 they're more likely to help the governor, who is a Democrat, get the health care and education reforms he wants.

But Environmentalists don’t want fish to be forgotten.

There is a big difference between drawing water from the river in winter and summer times. In the winter there are far fewer salmon and steelhead swimming through the river. So taking water out doesn't harm the fish like it would during the summer.

Farmers like Barry BuShue in Clackamas County don’t need the extra water in wintertime, though. They need it in the summer when the rain stops and their crops are thirsty.

"You don't always get the water when you need it," said BuShue. "You get in the middle of July and you're trying to raise a crop. It doesn't rain in the middle of July or August or early September and you've got to have water."

If HB 4101 passes, the state would be required to take 100,000-acre feet out of the Columbia each year. That is more than 32 billion gallons of water. The state already takes more than 5 million-acre feet out of the river. So the bill increases the amount by only two percent.

Environmentalists point out the bill doesn't say when the water would be taken out of the river. They're concerned taking more out of the Columbia in the summertime will further slow down salmon and raise the water temperature, killing more fish.

"You can take water out of the Columbia right now," said John DeVoe, executive director of WaterWatch of Oregon. "This is about undermining protections for fish and getting at summertime water in the Columbia." 

He also said the new jobs would come at the expense of fishery jobs.

Oregon currently captures far less water than Washington and Idaho.

BuShue, who's also the president of the Oregon Farm Bureau, said he doesn't care if the water is taken in winter and stored as long as it helps farmers come summertime.

The problem, though, is that requires a place to store the water, which will mean spending money on water storage facilities. And it's not clear how much that would cost Oregon taxpayers.