Patti Adair Said She Opposed The Piping Project Due To Cost, Concerns About Property Values, And Because “If You're Piping Everything, Where Do The Wildlife Get A Drink?” And Wrote To Congressman Cliff Bentz Urging Him To Oppose The Project

May 2023: Adair Said She Opposed The Project Because The Cost Was Not Worth The Water Savings And Replacing 12 Miles Of Open Canal With A Buried Pipe Would Negatively Impact Properties Near The Canal

May 2023: Bend Bulletin: Adair Said She Opposed The Project Because The Cost Was Not Worth The Water Savings And Replacing 12 Miles Of Open Canal With A Buried Pipe Would Negatively Impact Properties Near The Canal. “A Deschutes County Commissioner that previously supported Arnold Irrigation District's plan to convert its open canal to a closed pipe has changed positions and now opposes the multi-million dollar water conservation project. Patti Adair, one of three county commissioners, says the cost of the project is not worth the water savings and replacing around 12 miles of open canal with a buried pipe will negatively impact properties near the canal. The piping of the Arnold Canal is intended to conserve water that is lost through seepage into the porous bottom of the canal. Water conserved through the project will help increase allotments for farmers in summer and will boost the water level of the Deschutes River in winter. But some residents who live near the canal on Bend's southern fringe oppose the project, saying it will damage the local ecosystem that has grown up around the canal since it was built more than a century ago.” [Bend Bulletin, 5/21/23]

Bend Bulletin: Adair Said “To Pipe It For $43 Million Seems Incredibly Excessive.” “A grassroots group called Save Arnold Canal has filed a lawsuit against Arnold Irrigation District in hopes of canceling the piping project, which was approved by federal agencies in December. ‘To pipe it for $43 million seems incredibly excessive,’ Adair told The Bulletin. ‘Their homes will be impacted, their values will be impacted, and its four cubic feet a second, which is immaterial.’ Adair was quoting numbers from a 2021 paper written by Central Oregon LandWatch, which was commenting before Arnold had released its final environmental assessment. Jeremy Austin, the wild lands and water program manager for LandWatch, said changes reflected in the final environmental assessment, released in August 2022, reflect more water conservation for the river.” [Bend Bulletin, 5/21/23]

Bend Bulletin: Adair Expressed Concerns About The Piping Project’s Impact On Property Values, Saying: “Homes Will Be Impacted, Their Values Will Be Impacted.” “A grassroots group called Save Arnold Canal has filed a lawsuit against Arnold Irrigation District in hopes of canceling the piping project, which was approved by federal agencies in December. ‘To pipe it for $43 million seems incredibly excessive,’ Adair told The Bulletin. ‘Their homes will be impacted, their values will be impacted, and its four cubic feet a second, which is immaterial.’ Adair was quoting numbers from a 2021 paper written by Central Oregon LandWatch, which was commenting before Arnold had released its final environmental assessment. Jeremy Austin, the wild lands and water program manager for LandWatch, said changes reflected in the final environmental assessment, released in August 2022, reflect more water conservation for the river.” [Bend Bulletin, 5/21/23]

May 2024: Adair Said She Opposed The Piping Project Because: “If You're Piping Everything, Where Do The Wildlife Get A Drink?”

May 2024: Adair Said She Opposed The Piping Project Because: “If You're Piping Everything, Where Do The Wildlife Get A Drink?” “But the canal piping under way over the past several years has its critics. Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair is against canal piping in the Arnold Irrigation District canal. ‘If you're piping everything, where do the wildlife get a drink?’ Adair said Tuesday. Last year, neighbors lost a case in federal court citing environmental impacts. Commissioner Adair believes there's better alternatives. ‘The real thing I would love to see happen in Central Oregon is getting rid of 5 million juniper trees, tastefully - leave four an acre. But juniper trees use moisture all year long, 25 to 40 gallons a day,’ she said.” [KTVZ, 5/14/24]

Adair Wrote To Republican Congressman Cliff Bentz And Asked For His Support In Opposing The Project, Citing Outdated Information And Opposition From A Group That Had Since Come Forward In Support

May 2023: Adair Wrote To Republican Congressman Cliff Bentz And Asked For His Support In Opposing The Project. “‘To pipe it for $43 million seems incredibly excessive,’ Adair told The Bulletin. ‘Their homes will be impacted, their values will be impacted, and its four cubic feet a second, which is immaterial.’ Adair was quoting numbers from a 2021 paper written by Central Oregon LandWatch, which was commenting before Arnold had released its final environmental assessment. Jeremy Austin, the wild lands and water program manager for LandWatch, said changes reflected in the final environmental assessment, released in August 2022, reflect more water conservation for the river. ‘LandWatch supports the changes made to the EA that purport to permanently protect instream the water savings associated with the piping project,’ said Austin. Last week, Adair sent a letter to the office of U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, asking for his support in opposing the piping project. Adair cited Central Oregon LandWatch as a local group opposing the piping plans in the note. ‘Even COLW says the Arnold Irrigation project is not appropriate to spend $43 million to accomplish so little and to destroy so much. We had our meeting with so many residents so upset yesterday. Please ask Congressman Bentz to help stop this project,’ said the letter, which was obtained by the Bulletin.” [Bend Bulletin, 5/21/23]

May 2023: In Her Letter To Bentz, Adair Cited Outdated Information And Opposition To The Project From A Grassroots Group Called Central Oregon Land Watch, Which Had Since Come Forward In Favor Of The Project. “‘To pipe it for $43 million seems incredibly excessive,’ Adair told The Bulletin. ‘Their homes will be impacted, their values will be impacted, and its four cubic feet a second, which is immaterial.’ Adair was quoting numbers from a 2021 paper written by Central Oregon LandWatch, which was commenting before Arnold had released its final environmental assessment. Jeremy Austin, the wild lands and water program manager for LandWatch, said changes reflected in the final environmental assessment, released in August 2022, reflect more water conservation for the river. ‘LandWatch supports the changes made to the EA that purport to permanently protect instream the water savings associated with the piping project,’ said Austin. Last week, Adair sent a letter to the office of U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, asking for his support in opposing the piping project. Adair cited Central Oregon LandWatch as a local group opposing the piping plans in the note. ‘Even COLW says the Arnold Irrigation project is not appropriate to spend $43 million to accomplish so little and to destroy so much. We had our meeting with so many residents so upset yesterday. Please ask Congressman Bentz to help stop this project,’ said the letter, which was obtained by the Bulletin.” [Bend Bulletin, 5/21/23]

• May 2023: Adair: “Even COLW Says The Arnold Irrigation Project Is Not Appropriate To Spend $43 Million To Accomplish So Little And To Destroy So Much.” “‘To pipe it for $43 million seems incredibly excessive,’ Adair told The Bulletin. ‘Their homes will be impacted, their values will be impacted, and its four cubic feet a second, which is immaterial.’ Adair was quoting numbers from a 2021 paper written by Central Oregon LandWatch, which was commenting before Arnold had released its final environmental assessment. Jeremy Austin, the wild lands and water program manager for LandWatch, said changes reflected in the final environmental assessment, released in August 2022, reflect more water conservation for the river. ‘LandWatch supports the changes made to the EA that purport to permanently protect instream the water savings associated with the piping project,’ said Austin. Last week, Adair sent a letter to the office of U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, asking for his support in opposing the piping project. Adair cited Central Oregon LandWatch as a local group opposing the piping plans in the note. ‘Even COLW says the Arnold Irrigation project is not appropriate to spend $43 million to accomplish so little and to destroy so much. We had our meeting with so many residents so upset yesterday. Please ask Congressman Bentz to help stop this project,’ said the letter, which was obtained by the Bulletin.” [Bend Bulletin, 5/21/23]
• May 2023: Jeremy Austin, The Wild Lands And Water Program Manager For LandWatch, Said The Organization Supported The Project After Analyzing The Final Environmental Assessment. “Adair was quoting numbers from a 2021 paper written by Central Oregon LandWatch, which was commenting before Arnold had released its final environmental assessment. Jeremy Austin, the wild lands and water program manager for LandWatch, said changes reflected in the final environmental assessment, released in August 2022, reflect more water conservation for the river. ‘LandWatch supports the changes made to the EA that purport to permanently protect instream the water savings associated with the piping project,’ said Austin. Last week, Adair sent a letter to the office of U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ontario, asking for his support in opposing the piping project. Adair cited Central Oregon LandWatch as a local group opposing the piping plans in the note. ‘Even COLW says the Arnold Irrigation project is not appropriate to spend $43 million to accomplish so little and to destroy so much. We had our meeting with so many residents so upset yesterday. Please ask Congressman Bentz to help stop this project,’ said the letter, which was obtained by the Bulletin.” [Bend Bulletin, 5/21/23]