The Oregon Water Coalition promotes the responsible use, development and conservation of Oregon’s water resources.

Irrigated agriculture in the Pacific Northwest has made giant moves forward in water conservation in the last quarter century. Replacing flood irrigation systems with sprinkler and drip systems on most existing farms and on all new irrigated farms and orchards has revolutionalized these efforts.

With this modern technology, irrigators are able to farm more land and leave more water in the streams for fish and wildlife.

The Oregon Water Coalition believes it is possible to save and develop great salmon runs in Oregon’s rivers, AND save and develop irrigated agriculture.

The amount of water used to irrigate more than 200,000 acres of Eastern Oregon farm land is less than 0.2% of the annual flow of the Columbia River. Of all the water flowing down the Columbia, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, agriculture uses less than 16 hours of that water in one year.

99.8% of the water in the Columbia River passes to the Pacific Ocean untouched by Oregon agriculture each year.