Talent Irrigation District shuts off all water canals for the season

TALENT, Ore. – The Talent Irrigation District is shutting off all water Friday morning.

The district says the change is because of extremely low reservoir levels and depleted water supply.

This is the second summer in a row the Talent Irrigation District has shut off water canals early because of a lack of water.

Farmers who get their water from the district say the move is not surprising and that they’ve been bracing for it.

However, the lack of water does drastically change how they operate.

“We normally, a couple years back, plant 60 acres, and then this last year, we had to drop down to 15, and then we did the same thing this year. We didn’t want to get through the season and then have no water left and watch our crop die, this is our livelihood, so,” Paul Elliott, Operational Manager of Elli-Hou Farm, said.

Elliott says his farm has been conserving water for some time to be prepared for the water shutdown.

The Talent Irrigation District is hoping for a rainy and snowy winter to replenish the reservoirs so they can have a normal water supply for the 2023 season.