On July 5th a Central Oregon Irrigation District canal in Bend overflowed sending large amounts of damaging sediment into the Deschutes River as well as dramatically, if temporarily, changing the flow in the river. The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife became aware of the incident after seeing multiple posts on social media and investigated. The overflow occurred at COID’s hydroelectric facility which operates under a license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. COID did not notify FERC as required, or alert other government agencies. ODFW has sent a letter to FERC asking for more cooperation from COID to understand the incident and plans for avoiding similar occurrences in the future.

Here’s what I have been able to ascertain. COID diverts water from the Deschutes below River Canyon Park not far from Elk Meadow Elementary School. The water is piped a little over a mile downstream where it enters an open canal which acts as a forebay for COID’s hydroelectric facility off Powers Road above the Deschutes River Trail.

The hydroelectric facility malfunctioned and the water in the forebay overflowed at both ends. The water ran down to the river, digging large channels, and sending debris and sediment into the river which is clearly not good for fish and other aquatic species. ODFW prepared this document with much more detail. The graph below shows the sudden change in flow in the river during the incident.

I understand that equipment breaks down but shouldn’t COID have some sort of failsafe to protect the river? This part of the river is home to an endangered species and covered by the Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan. Shouldn’t COID notify government agencies of a significant event like this? What is their plan for remediation for the river and the hillside between their canal and the river? There are plans for building homes in the area affected by the overflow, what happens if such an event occurs after they are built?