Outreach
Crater Lake, Klamath County
Groundwater affects every community in Oregon. Most people never get a clear explanation of how it works or what is happening to it.
We offer free speaking engagements to public groups across Oregon. Schools, water boards, irrigation districts, farm bureaus, county planning commissions, neighborhood associations, rural communities, and anyone else who wants to understand what is going on with their groundwater. We come to you.
Every presentation is tailored to your group. If your community is dealing with a specific water issue, a declining aquifer, a contested water right, a proposed development, or a new allocation rule, we can speak directly to that situation. We can also speak more broadly on Oregon groundwater topics if your group is looking for general education.
No charge. Contact us anytime.
Who we speak to
Water boards and water districts
Irrigation districts and farm bureaus
County planning commissions and local governments
Rural landowner and homeowner associations
Tribal nations and Indigenous communities
Schools, colleges, and civic organizations
What we can speak about
Any groundwater topic, tailored to your audience
We can speak to any level of technical background. Every presentation is built around what your community actually needs to know.
Oregon’s New Groundwater Allocation Rules
What OWRD’s updated rules mean for existing water rights holders, new applications, and communities that depend on groundwater. What is changing, what is not, and what it means for your basin.
How Aquifers Work and Why They Are Declining
A plain-language explanation of how groundwater is stored, how it moves, and why water tables are dropping in many parts of Oregon. What drives decline, what slows it, and what it takes to reverse it.
Managed Aquifer Recharge
What MAR is, how it works, and whether it is a realistic option for your community or operation. Case examples from Oregon and the Pacific Northwest, including what makes a site suitable and what the permitting process looks like.
Water Rights in Oregon
Oregon’s prior appropriation system explained for non-lawyers. What a water right actually gives you, what curtailment means, how exempt wells fit in, and what is at stake as allocation rules tighten.
Dry Wells and Declining Water Levels
Why wells go dry, what the warning signs are, and what options exist for landowners and communities facing declining groundwater. What the science says about which areas are most at risk across Oregon.
Surface Water and Groundwater Are Connected
How rivers, streams, and aquifers interact, why pumping groundwater can affect streamflow, and what Oregon’s instream flow rules mean for irrigators and water right holders.
Water Conflict in Oregon
Real examples of how water disputes arise between senior and junior right holders, between irrigators and municipalities, and between groundwater users and instream flow requirements. How conflicts get resolved and what makes them worse.
Your Specific Water Situation
If your community, district, or basin is dealing with a specific groundwater challenge, a contested allocation, a proposed development, a new well, or an unexplained water quality issue, we can build a presentation around your actual situation.
Drought and Oregon Groundwater
How changing precipitation patterns, earlier snowmelt, and longer dry seasons are affecting Oregon aquifers and water supply reliability, and what that means for planning decisions being made today.
Real Oregon water conflicts
Water conflict is not abstract in Oregon. It shows up in the ditch, the courtroom, and the kitchen table.
We can speak to real conflicts and how they developed, what the hydrogeology said, what the law said, and how communities navigated the gap between the two.
Senior vs. Junior Water Rights
When drought triggers curtailment, junior right holders — sometimes farms that have operated for decades — can be cut off entirely while senior users receive their full allocation. We cover how these conflicts arise, what they look like in Oregon’s most contested basins, and what options exist.
Groundwater Pumping and Streamflow Depletion
In connected surface-groundwater systems, pumping from a well reduces streamflow, sometimes miles away. This has led to significant conflicts in Oregon between irrigators and instream flow requirements designed to protect fish habitat.
New Development and Existing Users
When a new subdivision, industrial use, or agricultural expansion taps a shared aquifer, existing well owners — including domestic users — can see their water levels drop. Oregon law offers protections, but the threshold for triggering them is often misunderstood.
Basin-Wide Allocation Disputes
In some Oregon basins, total water demand has exceeded what the aquifer can sustainably provide. The resulting disputes involve farmers, cities, rural landowners, and state regulators — often with no simple answer. We walk through how these situations develop and what resolution has looked like elsewhere.
Public groups, free of charge
Water boards, irrigation districts, county commissions, Tribal nations and Indigenous communities, community organizations, farm bureaus, neighborhood associations, schools, and any other public-facing group. We come to you, we tailor the presentation to your situation, and there is no charge.
Private organizations, let’s talk
Private companies, industry associations, legal firms, real estate developers, and other private organizations are welcome to reach out. Engagements for private groups are handled differently. Contact us to discuss your needs and we will work something out.