OWRD proposes denial of Thornburgh's request for water rights
The Oregon Water Resources Department’s Order
On July 25, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) issued an order proposing denial of water rights requested by the developer of Thornburgh Resort.
At the time Thornburgh Resort was originally approved, the developer demonstrated there was adequate water available for a destination resort by obtaining water permit G-17036. This permit gave Thornburgh the right to pump 9.28 cubic feet per second (cfs) — which equates to roughly 6 million gallons per day — for quasi-municipal use to supply the resort.
However, the developer let this water permit expire in 2018.
Thornburgh requested to replace the water it had under its expired water permit (G-17036) with a new permit (G-19139). But in a Proposed Final Order dated July 25, 2023, OWRD denied this request.
Caitlyn Burford
(Still) high and dry
Thornburgh reduced its request for groundwater from 9.28 cfs to 6 cfs for permit G-19139, but OWRD still proposed denial.
OWRD found that wells in the targeted aquifer zone have experienced continuous and significant year-on-year water level declines since the mid-1990s, and that the groundwater is "not available within the capacity of the resource" Specifically, OWRD decided that the groundwater requested by Thornburgh to supply a destination resort would “impair or adversely affect the public welfare, safety, and health.”
OWRD wrote:
“Because groundwater pumping contributes meaningfully to groundwater declines, the requested use would exacerbate declines that will increase the number of triggered decline conditions and wells that will have declined excessively. This will preclude the perpetual use of the resource. As such, the proposed use is determined to be not within the capacity of the resource. Therefore, the proposed use will impair or adversely affect the public welfare, safety, and health under ORS 537.525. ORS 537.525; ORS 537.621(2); OAR 690-310-0140(2).”
The Deschutes County destination resort code DCC 18.113.070(K) requires adequate water to be available for all proposed uses at a destination resort.
At this time, Thornburgh does not have available water to supply a destination resort.
What comes next?
Multiple cases regarding Thornburgh, including the developer’s serious and ongoing difficulty in guaranteeing adequate water to support the resort, are currently tied up in legal appeals.
LandWatch is pursuing an appeal to the Land Use Board of Appeals of Deschutes County's latest approval of Thornburgh Resort's modified Fish and Wildlife Mitigation Plan. The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs, Annunziata Gould, and Judge Paul Lipscomb are also appealing.
We anticipate the case will be heard sometime this summer, and we’ll keep you updated.
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