Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region

Hood River Basin Study

The Bureau of Reclamation and Hood River County, in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, conducted a study on water resources in the Hood River Basin to develop alternatives to better understand water supply, demand, and ecological resource related conditions in the basin.

The study area is from the confluence of Hood River with the Columbia River and includes the East, West, and Middle Fork rivers. Because of the contribution of water supply that the Mount Hood glacier provides to the basin, the climate change analysis conducted for the Hood River Basin Study includes a determination of the impacts of increasing temperatures on the Mount Hood glacier extent and volume. The study identified opportunities for development of water supplies (i.e., above-ground storage, aquifer storage) and improvement of water management (i.e., conservation measures, optimization of resources) while sustaining environmental quality. Alternatives were developed in partnership with Hood River County and evaluated as part of the Study.

The analysis of water supply and storage involved identification and evaluation of watershed hydrology, potential onstream and offstream storage sites. The focus is on the availability, characterization, and quantification of the natural hydrology of the basin, including:

• seasonal volume of runoff and stored water available;
• surface water/groundwater interactions;
• irrigated agricultural areas;
• instream and offstream water uses;
• irrigation water distribution facilities and their operation

Status Reports >>
Meeting Notes >>
News Release: Study Finds Shift in Timing of Water Availability in Oregon’s Hood River Basin

Contact

Jessica Peters
CPN Region Basin Studies Coordinator
208-270-1462
jepeters@usbr.gov

Bureau of Reclamation
Columbia–Pacific Northwest Region
1150 N. Curtis Road
Boise, ID 83706