February 10, 2023
City Manager Deanna Schafer asked to testify on Oregon House Bill 2813:
Recently, City of Reedsport, City Manager Deanna Schafer was honored to be selected to testify before the Oregon State Legislature’s House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water regarding House Bill 2813: “Relating to sources of drinking water; prescribing an effective date.” The bill’s summary states, “Requires Oregon Health Authority to ensure that communities in this state have access to safe drinking water.”
On Thursday, February 2, 2023 City Manager Deanna Schafer joined the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts and Sustainable Northwest to testify as witnesses in a Public Hearing for the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water which is chaired by Representative Ken Helm from Oregon House District 27. State Representative Boomer Wright has also signed on in support of HB 2813.
City Manager Deanna Schafer opened her testimony supporting HB 2813 “because it truly ensures that the communities in this state have access to safe drinking water.” Schafer went on to talk about the history of Reedsport’s water rights, which were originally established in 1919, the same year the City was incorporated. “The daily lake draw averages 500,000 gallons in the winter and 800,000 gallons in the summer. This municipal water source provides potable water for not only Reedsport, but two additional unincorporated communities of Winchester Bay and Gardiner.
The City of Reedsport is one of only three drinking water sources in the State of Oregon that remain non-filtered and we credit the forethought of our leaders who purchased a large amount of the land surrounding the lake between 1955 and 1999. The last tract that surrounds one of the lakes large arms in an additional 332 acre parcel owned by a timber investment firm. Currently the timber on the property averages 25 plus years old and within a few years will be considered for harvest. Even with approved harvest practices, our drinking water source could be threatened by future sediment contamination from rain runoff, which could drastically increase the cost of maintaining clean and safe drinking water for ourselves and our neighboring communities.
The time to protect the watershed is now. I (Schafer) began conversations with the owners early last year to try to negotiate a conservation easement on the property. However, our goal would be to purchase the land and implement a forest management plan. This bill could enable the City of Reedsport to accomplish that goal by providing resources, technical assistance or other programs designed towards protecting Oregon’s drinking water sources.
Beyond this, HB 2813 will provide meaningful support for many communities facing water insecurity and will help leverage unprecedented federal funding coming down to our state. We encourage Chair Helm and the committee members to support this bill and appreciate the opportunity to testify.”
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (OR), Jeff Merkley (OR), and Martin Heinrich (NM) introduced a similar bill in the U.S. Senate in March 2022. The federal bill is endorsed by a wide range of water advocacy and environmental organizations, including DigDeep, the Rural Community Assistance Partnership, the U.S. Water Alliance, Water for People, and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials.