Water Program Updates: North Coast and Mid-Coast

Water Program HeaderWater Quality & Quantity Program Updates Northwest

North Coast and Mid-Coast Basins

Instream Water Right Filings

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has reinitiated our instream water right (ISWR) filing process throughout Oregon.  As part of the process, ODFW has recently filed new instream water right applications on the North Coast and Mid-Coast with the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD).  For ongoing updates about these applications or the current instream filing process, we encourage you to visit ODFW’s Water Quality and Quantity Program website (http://www.dfw.state.or.us/fish/water/). In addition, public notifications for water right applications can be found through OWRD’s Water Rights Public Notice page (http://apps.wrd.state.or.us/apps/misc/wrd_notice_view/?notice_id=21).


ISWR Key Points:

  • It is the policy of the state, through ODFW, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and enabling statutes (ORS 537.332 to 537.360), to apply for ISWRs to benefit the people of the State of Oregon by maintaining water instream for public use.

-  Public uses for instream flow include, but are not limited to: recreation, pollution abatement, navigation, or conservation, maintenance and enhancement of aquatic and fish life, wildlife, fish and wildlife habitat, and any other ecological values.

  • The need to apply for ISWRs continues to be highlighted in Oregon’s 2017 Integrated Water Resources Strategy, which specifically identifies actions to determine instream flow needs and establish additional instream water rights.

-  ISWRs provide target flows necessary for fish, wildlife, and their habitats, water quality, or recreation as Oregonians work together to understand and meet the state’s water needs. 

  • Currently, ODFW is conducting instream needs studies and filing instream water right applications in support of the conservation, maintenance, and enhancement of aquatic and fish life, wildlife, and fish and wildlife habitat to provide optimum recreational and aesthetic benefits for present and future generations of the citizens of this state (OAR 635-400-0005).

  • Instream rights are enforced like all other water rights. By law, instream (like out-of-stream) rights cannot take away or impair any legally established water use having an earlier priority date.

    If you have any questions regarding the current instream filing process or recent applications, please do not hesitate to contact Anna Pakenham Stevenson at 503-947-6084 or Anna.p.stevenson@state.or.us


    NorthMidCoastMap_FiledApplications

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