In less than a century, the impacts of irrigation, hydropower projects, and other human activities throughout the Deschutes Basin have disrupted the natural water systems and environmental conditions that sustained abundant steelhead populations for millennia.

In order to take steps toward habitat recovery, it is important to understand how we’ve fundamentally changed these waterways.

To meet existing and future water needs, the Basin’s senior irrigation districts need to ramp up financial incentive programs to conserve more water, in concert with the piping of private laterals.

Most of the Deschutes River Basin’s water is used for irrigation and waste happens at every step in the process. It is time for irrigation districts to step up and truly embrace reform at the local level.

It is time to focus on solutions to water waste to ensure that both our frogs and our farmers get the water they need - and time is of the essence as climate change tightens its grip.

It doesn’t take an expert to see the growing conflict over the scarcity of water supplies in Central Oregon, intensified by drought and the impacts of climate change. But the Oregon spotted frog is not to blame for our water woes, nor are the farmers whose livelihood depends on water for crops.

Central Oregon recently made national headlines when The Washington Post hailed local water infrastructure projects as “the future of the American West.” Indeed, improving the efficiency of our century-old water infrastructure is key to ushering in a modern era of water management–but it’s far from a panacea.

This needs to be our last season of water scarcity. It’s time for reform. First, Oregon needs to modify how “beneficial use” of water is defined, monitored, and regulated to realign water priorities to meet 21st-century needs.

The ongoing drought remains at the forefront of our minds as summer draws to a close. Isn’t it time to work together to change our water policies and eliminate wasteful practices? We all stand to benefit.