Oregon Legislature Earmarks $2.5M for CTUIR-Backed Water Projects

MISSION – Officials with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) are lauding a bill recently passed by Oregon lawmakers that funds water projects in the Walla Walla Basin.

House Bill 5006 earmarks $2.5 million to the Oregon Water Resources Department so it can administer funding for certain water projects in the state, including several CTUIR projects.

“This funding would not have been possible without our local legislators championing the request, so a special thanks goes out to Sen. Todd Nash, Rep. Bobby Levy and Rep. Greg Smith,” CTUIR Board of Trustees Member at Large Toby Patrick said. “We also would not have succeeded in receiving this funding if it weren’t for the support of Rep. Ken Helm and Rep. Mark Owens.”

Anton Chiono, CTUIR Habitat Conservation Project leader, said the tribe also appreciated help from the Walla Walla River Irrigation District, which worked with CTUIR on the funding request, the Washington Department of Ecology and Walla Walla 2050 Basin Advisory Committee members who supported the bill.

The $2.5 million will help the CTUIR implement six project types identified in the Walla Walla Water 2050 Plan, Chiono said. Those project types are:

• Floodplain restoration to reduce flood risk and restore habitat,
• Streamflow restoration through water rights transactions,
• Fish passage improvement and habitat restoration in Mill Creek,
• Increased infiltration of stormwater to improve surface water quality,
• Modernizing irrigation infrastructure to benefit streamflows and
• Improving water quality in the South Fork Walla Walla River.

“CTUIR’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will work with Walla Walla basin stakeholders to use the money on various projects, including to restore instream flows through irrigation efficiency projects and projects that improve habitat via floodplain restoration,” Chiono said. “While the specific project outcomes vary, the projects types were prioritized on the basis of the multiple benefits that each would provide for fish, farms and people.”

Chiono added that determining how much funding each project receives is still being decided. However, he said Washington State is providing $2.4 million in matching funds to help implement the projects, which are part of the Walla Walla Water 2050 Plan.

The Walla Walla Water 2050 Plan is a strategic initiative aimed at improving water management and streamflows in the Walla Walla Basin over the next 30 years.

“These projects types were identified by the Walla Walla Water 2050 Plan as funding priorities in 2021, but in many cases, they have been critical needs in the basin for decades,” Chiono said. “These are the projects that CTUIR, basin stakeholders and Oregon and Washington identified as the priority projects necessary to implement the Walla Walla 2050 Plan and achieve sustainable water management in the Walla Walla Basin.”

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is comprised of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla Tribes, and formed under the Treaty of 1855 at the Walla Walla Valley, 12 Stat. 945. In 1949, the Tribes adopted a constitutional form of government to protect, preserve and enhance the reserved treaty rights guaranteed under federal law.