Understanding the Data
Water Rights:
OWRD maintains a database called the Water Rights Information System (WRIS).
WRIS is a warehouse of all information pertaining to water right applications, permits, certificates, transfers, leases and more.
Please use this database for researching all water right records.
For more information on the compilation of water rights data, please review
OWRD Water Rights Compilation Procedures.
The water rights displayed in this mapping application do not include all water rights. It does not include water rights:
- In Application Stage - While in this stage, no water use activity is taking place. It is only planned.
- In Irrigation Districts - Water rights are managed by the district and are subject to frequent
changes. Please contact the individual district for more information.
- For Short-term Duration - These are subject to frequent changes.
- Where a map was not provided - For example, some decrees were not mapped. Water rights not mapped are represented by a small diamond
shaped polygon centered within the quarter-quarter section.
- Not Currently Active - Cancelled water rights are not provided in this application.
- In backlog status - More frequently, these are transfers.
When a water right reaches the permit or certificate stage, water use activity occurs. The information about
the water right is entered into WRIS and the map is entered into the OWRD mapping system.
If a water right is cancelled or transferred, this information is also entered into WRIS, and the modifications to
the water rights are made to the OWRD mapping system.
The principal aspects of a water right include a point of diversion (POD) or a place of use (POU). Common attributes are:
- Priority Date - The date when the water right application was submitted.
- Water Type - If the source of water is from surface water or ground water, or if the water right is for storage.
- Water Use - A classification of how the water will be used, such as for irrigation, municipal, etc. Click here for list.
- Supplemental - Water rights that supplement a primary right. These are water rights that may be used when water under a primary right is unavailable.
- Name or Company Name - Name or organization of the water right at the time of issuance.
Points of Diversion (POD)
Water right Points of Diversion (POD) are approved locations where water may be diverted (where the owner takes control of the resource). They may be in the form of a well for ground water, a point on a stream that feeds into a dam for storage water, or a pump in a stream for surface water.
There may be several PODs represented by the same device, such as a well. A separate POD is mapped when there is a difference
in attributes, such as different water use or priority date. It is possible to have several PODs stacked on top of
each other, but physically there may be only one device. These points represent the water right(s), not the device.
PODs may also be represented by another theme called 'PODs by Source Type'. The PODs had been classified by the source, such as reserviors, sumps, springs, streams, or wells.
Places of Use (POU)
Water right Places of Use (POU) are where the water is being used, such as for irrigation, road construction, recreation, etc.
There will be a different polygon to represent when there is a difference in attributes, such as different water use or priority date.
Primary vs. Supplemental
Water rights are either primary or supplemental. Supplemental POUs must overlap primary POUs;
they are supplementing the primary water right by offering water from an alternative source.
Supplemental PODs may or may not overlap those of primary rights, as they are providing the source of water to the POU from different sources. The POD may be the same physical location, but the source of water may change (such as a stream for the primary and a reservoir feeding the stream for the supplemental).
Basemaps:
Imagery
This map presents low-resolution imagery for the world and high-resolution imagery for the United States and other
areas around the world. The map includes NASA Blue Marble: Next Generation 500m resolution imagery at small
scales (above 1:1,000,000), i-cubed 15m eSAT imagery at medium-to-large scales (down to 1:70,000) for the
world. The map features i-cubed Nationwide Prime 1m or better
resolution imagery for the contiguous United States. i-cubed Nationwide Prime is a seamless, color mosaic of
various commercial and government
imagery sources, including Aerials Express 0.3 to 0.6m resolution imagery for metropolitan areas and the
best available United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP)
imagery and enhanced versions of United States Geological Survey (USGS) Digital Ortho Quarter Quad (DOQQ)
imagery for other areas. For more information on this map, visit us online at
https://goto.arcgisonline.com/maps/World_Imagery. Dates for the images vary, but can be found under the "Metadata, Content Viewer" description.
Street Map
This worldwide street map presents highway-level data for the world and street-level data for the United States,
Canada, Japan, Southern Africa, most countries in Europe, parts of Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and
parts of South America including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela. This comprehensive street map
includes highways, major roads, minor roads, one-way arrow indicators, railways, water features, administrative
boundaries, cities, parks, and landmarks, overlaid on shaded relief imagery for added context. The map also includes building footprints for selected areas in the United States and Europe. The street map was
developed by ESRI using ESRI basemap data, DeLorme basemap layers, and road data, USGS elevation data,
Intact Forest Landscapes data for the world; NAVTEQ data for Australia, New Zealand, and South America
(Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela); and TomTom Dynamap® and Multinet® street data for North America and
Europe. For more information, visit ESRI's World Street Map.
World Topographic Map
Compiled from best available sources. It includes cities, water features, physiographic features, parks, landmarks,
highways, roads, railways, airports and administrative boundaries, overlaid on land cover and shaed relief imagery. Sources
include the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) , U.S. National Park Service (NPS),
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Department of Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN), GeoBase,
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, DeLorme, HERE, and Esri.
Other Basemaps
The other basemaps provided in the Basemap Gallery are provided by ESRI. More information on these basemaps can be found at
ESRI's website for Maps
and Map Layers.
Administrative Boundaries:
Administrative Basins and Regions
The OWRD Basin Programs are basin-specific administrative rules that govern the allocation
of water in each respective basin, including how water may be diverted from one basin to another.
There are 18 Administrative Basins (map), most of which have an associated Basin Program.
The Administrative Basin boundaries were originally defined by OWRD map number 0.2, dated 1987, and entitled "Oregon Drainage Basins." The boundaries, for the most part, follow the hydrologic accounting units (level 3), and hydrologic cataloging units (level 4) in other areas.
While these boundaries were originally derived from hydrologic units, they have become static as administrative boundaries. As hydrologic units improve and "change" their boundaries, the Administrative Basin boundaries do not change.
OWRD Regions are groups of administrative basins
Watermaster Districts
Watermaster Districts divide the state into 20 units to be managed by watermasters.
Watermasters monitor streamflows and water levels and may cut off junior users to keep water flowing to senior users.
They also implement other field work or enforcement within their district. List of watermaster contacts.
These boundaries generally follow hydrologic
units, but not necessarily at the same hydrologic unit level (a mix of level 3, 4, and 5). These boundaries are static.
ODFW Districts and Regions
The ODFW Fish Districts and Regions are used within the contect of OWRD during the initial review process to
determine which district should review a water right application.
Rule Boundaries:
Scenic Waterways
Oregon’s 1970 Scenic Waterways Act
set into motion a state
protection program for reaches of certain rivers in Oregon. The program
promotes cooperative protection and wise use of these rivers by federal, state and local
agencies, individual property owners, and recreation users, and strives to: protect the free flowing
character of designated rivers; protect and enhance scenic, aesthetic and natural
values, recreation, scientific research, and fish and wildlife qualities;
protect private property rights; promote expansion of the scenic waterways system; and
encourage other state agencies to act consistently with the goals of scenic waterway
management.
This dataset is provided by Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
Withdrawn Authority
When the Water Resources Commission determines that it is necessary to ensure compliance with the
state water resources policy or that it is otherwise necessary in the public interest to conserve
the water resources of this state for the maximum beneficial use and control thereof that any
unappropriated waters of this state, including unappropriated waters released from storage or
impoundment into the natural flow of a stream for specified purposes, be withdrawn from appropriation
for all or any uses including exempt uses under ORS 537.545 (Exempt uses), the Commission, on behalf of
the state, may issue an order of withdrawal.
The withdrawals as described in
Division 80 are represented in this spatial dataset.
Deschutes Basin Groundwater Study Area
The Deschutes Ground Water Mitigation Program was developed to provide
for new ground water uses while maintaining scenic waterway and instream
water right flows in the Deschutes Basin.
Much of the mainstem Deschutes River and its tributaries are protected by
scenic waterway designations and instream water rights. There are also
existing surface water rights on the Deschutes River and its tributaries for
out of stream uses, such as irrigation and municipal. In the Deschutes Basin
above Pelton Dam, there is a direct hydraulic connection between ground
water and surface water flows. Because of this connection, ground water
withdrawals affect surface water flows. Since scenic waterway flows and
instream water rights are not always satisfied, the Department may not
approve new ground water permits unless the impacts are mitigated. The
mitigation program provides a set of tools that applicants for new ground
water permits can use to establish mitigation and, thereby, obtain new
permits from the Department.
For more information on this program, please visit
Deschutes Basin Mitigation Program
Every five years the Water Resources Commission (WRC) is required to
evaluate the effectiveness of the mitigation program. The purpose of this
evaluation is to ensure that scenic waterway and instream water right flows
continue to be met on at least an equivalent or more frequent basis
compared to flows within a representative base period.
Groundwater Restricted Areas
The Department’s role is to protect existing water rights by preventing excessive groundwater declines,
restoring aquifer stability, and preserving aquifers with limited storage capacity for designated high
public value uses. The Department has several administrative tools for the management of the state's
groundwater resources. New uses of groundwater may be restrictively classified within the basin programs.
Unappropriated groundwater may be withdrawn from further appropriation by an order of the Water Resources
Commission. A critical groundwater area boundary may be established by rule and restrictions to existing
groundwater uses within the critical area may be designated by a contested case hearing and order of the
commission.
There are 14 areas in Oregon in which groundwater has been restrictively classified. The limitations to
new groundwater uses are listed in the pertinent basin programs. The Fort Rock area is within the Goose
and Summer Lakes Basin (OAR 690-513). The Ella Butte area is within the Umatilla Basin (OAR 690-507).
There are 12 such areas, known as groundwater limited areas, in the northern Willamette Valley, including
both the Willamette and Sandy basins (OAR 690-502 & OAR 690-503). These areas are in the following
approximate locations: Sandy-Boring, Damascus, Gladtidings, Kingston, Mt. Angel, Sherwood-Dammasch-Wilsonville,
Stayton-Sublimity, Parrett Mountain, Chehalem Mountain, Eola Hills, South Salem Hills, and Amity
Hills-Walnut Hill.
There are seven critical groundwater areas in Oregon. Four of these, the Ordnance Gravel Critical
Groundwater Area, Ordnance Basalt Critical Groundwater Area, Butter Creek Critical Groundwater Area and
Stage Gulch Critical Groundwater Area, are all within the Umatilla Basin. The Cow Valley Critical
Groundwater Area is in the Malheur Basin. The Dalles Critical Groundwater Area is in the Hood Basin. The
Cooper-Bull Mountain Critical Groundwater Area is in the Willamette Basin.
There are two areas in Oregon for which the commission has issued orders withdrawing specific aquifers
from further appropriation. One is near Mosier in the Hood Basin. The other is near Silverton in the
Willamette Basin.
In most of the above restricted areas, the limitations apply only to the specific aquifer that has
had water-level declines or other problems documented. In some cases, groundwater may still be
available at a different depth from a different aquifer. As more wells are drilled, the Department
may find other areas where use of groundwater must be limited.
Groundwater ODEQ Management Areas
Groundwater Management Areas are designated by DEQ when groundwater in an area has elevated contaminant
concentrations resulting, at least in part, from nonpoint sources. Once the GWMA is declared, a local
groundwater management committee comprised of affected and interested parties is formed. The committee
then works with and advises the state agencies that are required to develop an action plan that will
reduce groundwater contamination in the area.
Oregon has designated three GWMAs because of elevated nitrate concentrations in groundwater.
These include the Lower Umatilla Basin GWMA, the Northern Malheur County GWMA, and the
Southern Willamette Valley GWMA. Each one has developed a voluntary action plan to reduce nitrate
concentrations in groundwater. For more information, visit
DEQ
Groundwater Umatilla Municipal Wells 5-mile buffer
In the Umatilla Basin, there are several cities that have a classification set forth in the Basin
Program rules (OAR 690-507) that limits the issuance of new ground water permits from the basalt
aquifer within a 5-mile radius around any municipal well of these cities. However, this classification
applies only when the city has a Water Management and Conservation Plan that is “in effect”.
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 4(d) Rule
In June 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) adopted a rule prohibiting the "take" of 14 groups
of salmon and steelhead listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NMFS adopted the take
rule under section 4(d) of the ESA. This rule prohibits anyone from taking a listed salmon or steelhead,
except in cases where the take is associated with an approved program. The 4(d) rule approves some specific
existing state and local programs, and creates a means for NMFS to approve additional programs if they meet
certain standards set out in the rule.
State and local governments, tribes and others throughout the Northwest have stepped forward and assumed
leadership roles in saving these species. Efforts include the
Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds, the
State of Washington's Extinction is Not an Option Plan, Metro's Functional Plan, the Puget Sound Tri-County Initiative,
the Lower Columbia Fish Recovery Board, the Eugene, Oregon-area Metro ESA Coordinating Team, and the Willamette
Restoration Initiative. NMFS believes it is these local efforts that will ultimately save the salmon. A central
goal of this 4(d) rule is to encourage such state and local efforts by providing the means for NMFS to approve
local efforts and limit liability under the ESA.
OAR Chapter 690, Division 33
OWRD Division 33, Additional Public Interest Standards for New Appropriations
establishes definitions, additional procedures and standards to aid the Department in determining whether a
proposed use will impair or be detrimental to the public interest with regard to sensitive, threatened, or
endangered fish species.
These rules apply to the following types of applications for permits:
- To appropriate surface water
- To appropriate hydraulically connected groundwater with potential for substantial interference
- To appropriate water for the purpose of groundwater recharge
- To store water or construct a reservoir
This dataset shows the general location of the habitat of sensitive, threatened, and endangered
fish species in Oregon as identified by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW)
for use by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD).
Attributes listed include: Name of area, HUC 10 name, and species list.
Water Quality Limited Pollutants
Digital vector hydrography dataset used by DEQ for the purposes of producing, analyzing, and displaying
georeferenced information for the 2010 Integrated Report.
Attributes provided by this application include: Name of Pollutant, Season, Criteria, Action, Affected Uses.
Surface Water:
Streamflow Restoration Priorities
The Water Resources Department and the Department of Fish and Wildlife jointly identified priority areas
for streamflow restoration in basins throughout the state. These priority areas represent watersheds in
which there is a combination of need and opportunity for flow restoration to support fish recovery efforts
under the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds. WRD is focusing its efforts under the Oregon Plan on these
priority areas.
The Oregon Plan includes two interrelated measures—WRD 6 and ODFW IVA8—for establishing priorities for
streamflow restoration. The measures are included in the Oregon Coastal Salmon Restoration Initiative
(CSRI) submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service in March 1997. Similar measures also are
included in the Steelhead Supplement which was submitted in February 1998. Under the measures, the
Water Resources Department (WRD) is responsible for evaluating deficits in streamflows for instream
water rights and the Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is responsible for prioritizing the areas
where fish habitat is most dependent on restoration of streamflows.WRD and ODFW staff worked closely
in developing the methodology for identifying streamflow restoration priorities in the five major
coastal basins included under the CSRI.1 ODFW developed and implemented a process to identify the
watersheds in which fish were more likely to respond to increased flows. WRD identified those
watersheds in which there are the best opportunities to restore flows. The rankings of expected
response by fish and of opportunities for flow restoration were combined to produce the streamflow
restoration priorities. A similar process was used by the agencies in establishing priorities for
flow restoration in the remaining basins.
Water Availability Basin
Water availability is the amount of water that can be appropriated from a given point on a given
stream for new out-of-stream consumptive uses. It is obtained from the natural stream flow
by subtracting existing in-stream flow requirements and out-of-stream consumptive uses. For a
detailed description of the Water Availability Report program and the methodology used to
develop it, you may review the report titled
Determining Water Availability in Oregon.
For additional information, please visit
Water Availability Report System.
Ideally a water availability calculation would be
done for every watershed associated with a
point of diversion or an in-stream water right.
A watershed, in this case, includes all lands draining
to the stream upstream of the point of diversion or the
downstream end of an in-stream water right reach.
Because there are so many water rights, the
ideal approach is impractical.
The practical alternative is to limit the number of
watersheds for which water availability is calculated.
The delineation of these watersheds depends
on the location of in-stream demands and
on the physiography of affected streams. Generally
watersheds are defined above the mouths
of significant tributaries, on main channels
above significant tributaries and for all in-stream
demands.
These delineated watersheds are referred to as
Water Availability Basins (WABs). Water availability
is estimated at the downstream end, or
pour point, of each WAB.
Large drainage areas( e.g. the Rogue and
Umpqua basins) are broken into a number of
WABs. The WABs are nested, each upstream
WAB being included in a WAB downstream. For
water to be available in a given WAB, it must be
available in all the other watersheds in which it is
nested.
Priority WABS
OWRD and the Department of Fish and Wildlife jointly identified
priority areas for streamflow restoration in basins throughout the state. These priority areas
represent watersheds in which there is a combination of need and opportunity for flow
restoration to support fish recovery efforts under the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds.
OWRD is focusing its efforts under the Oregon Plan on these priority areas.
Hydrography:
Gaging Stations
The Water Resources Department operates more than 200 stream and reservoir gages throughout the
state. More than 160 of these gages are operated as near real-time. These gages transmit stream data
once an hour. The data is received and downloaded to the Department’s database where it is
processed and updated on the web page every hour. In addition,
information from another 225 gages operated by the USGS and other agencies is also shared on the
Department’s website.
Visit the Near Real Time Hydrographics Data website.
OWRD Streams
The primary objective of the OWRD stream code system was to assign index code numbers and develope mileage
figures for all streams in the State of Oregon. This involved, in a sense, a re-naming of all streams
using a system of code numbers and mileages which would allow precisely located data input. The
code will provide information which the computer will require to identify
specific points, reaches of streams or drainage areas.
The OWRD stream code is used throughout OWRD as a way to uniquely identify each stream.
River Miles
River miles are approximate and are computer generated.
PLSS:
Townships/Sections/Quarter-Quarter Sections
The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a way of subdividing and describing land in the United States.
All lands in the public domain are subject to subdivision by this rectangular system of surveys, which is
regulated by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM maintains the Geographic
Coordinate Database (GCDB) to store this information. Areas not covered by the GCDB are filled in by
Oregon Water Resources Department.
Donated Land Claims
Donated land claims refers to the Donation Land Act of 1850, where the US provided for the Donation of
Lands to settlers.