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Community input requested for Oregon’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy update

Posted on: May 12, 2023 - 2:35pm
Oregon's Kitchen Table

SALEM, Ore. -- The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) is seeking public input on updates to the states Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS) – Oregon’s roadmap for better understanding and meeting state water needs.

The IWRS is updated about once every five years and helps guide the work and funding of state water agencies. It also helps inform state legislature about important water issues in Oregon. OWRD is partnering with Oregon’s Kitchen Table (OKT) to gather feedback from the public for this round of updates through an online survey (opened May 2023) that can be accessed via the following link and during in person community conversations (May – June 2023).  

“Feedback from these surveys and meetings is crucial in creating a plan for Oregon’s water future that reflects the public’s diverse water needs, concerns and opinions” said Crystal Grinnell, IWRS Specialist with OWRD.  

Following the surveys and meetings, OKT will report findings to OWRD which will be used to draft the IWRS update. An interagency team including OWRD, the Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land Conservation and Development and 14 other agencies will then work together on the draft before public reviews in October 2023 and January 2024. Following these reviews, the Water Resources Commission will be slated to adopt the updated IWRS in early 2024.

With input from broad audiences across Oregon, the updated IWRS will identify critical water challenges and their potential solutions in the context of climate change, guide agency planning and budget requests, and identify changes needed surrounding equitable water policy. The meetings and survey will also help OWRD understand how communities would like to stay informed about water issues and the IWRS in hopes of boosting public contributions to conversations about water.

Learn more about the IWRS here and sign up to receive a link to the IWRS Survey in May here. After entering your email address, choose “Integrated Water Resources Strategy” for your preferred subscription topic.