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Water Quality and Quantity Improvement Projects - Phillips Ditch Pipeline Project

Water Quality and Quantity Improvement Projects

Phillips Ditch Pipeline Project

Location: Little Applegate River, between Sterling Creek and Yale Creek
Partners: Applegate Partnership and Watershed Council (APWC), Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) Allocation of Conserved Water Program (ACW), ODFW, JSWCD contracted engineer assistance from Adkins Engineering

A construction worker in safety gear stands near large pipes in a trench in a wooded area.
7,000 feet of an old earthen and leaky irrigation ditch was piped to provide up to 3.4 cubic feet per second (CFS) to irrigators, providing reliable water to over 100 acres of pasture and cropland. This project is a great example of a win-win-win situation for agriculture, fish, and the landowners.

Project Overview:
The Phillips Ditch Pipeline Project aims to enhance the conveyance efficiency of the Upper Phillips Ditch, which provides irrigation water to over 100 acres of actively farmed and ranched land in the Little Applegate River area. By replacing existing infrastructure with 16” and 12” solid-wall HDPE pipes, spanning approximately 7,000 feet, the project will conserve 0.36 cubic feet per second (CFS) of water. This conserved water, protected by a priority water right from 1857, will be preserved indefinitely in-stream, benefiting local aquatic ecosystems. The new hybrid gravity and pressurized irrigation system will increase water efficiency for agriculture while promoting conservation.

Project Status and Monitoring:
The project is currently in its final reporting phase. We are working on developing operation and maintenance guidelines for long-term system success. No specific monitoring updates are available for this quarter, but the project is progressing on schedule.