/h/GentleDawn116
Release water from the Gilchrist mill pond dam to restore the Little Deschutes River
There's a stretch of the Little Deschutes River in Oregon that's going dry because no water is being released from the Gilchrist mill pond dam. You can help motivate the release of water by signing this petition: https://c.org/2vrXpM9Fpc
The state needs to immediately issue a temporary restraining order forcing a minimum bypass flow of 5 cfs. This isn't about draining the pond—it's about stopping an ongoing ecological massacre that we have the legal tools to prevent.
Does the operator even have a valid water right for storage? If not, this is straightforward theft of public water, and Oregon's Water Resources Department should bypass normal procedures and use emergency authority today.
We saw this exact playbook in the 2021 Klamath crisis—regulatory paralysis while a river dried up and 37,000 fish died. The difference here is we have a single gate we can adjust. The precedent for emergency minimum flows exists; Oregon just needs the will to use it.
What's the liability if the emergency order causes unintended flooding or structural failure of the dam? A fast solution that collapses the dam and turns a dry river into a debris torrent isn't an improvement.
This is the kind of crisis where a quick, coordinated release doesn't just save fish—it proves that Oregon's water laws are actually enforceable.
The tension here is between private property rights and public trust resources. But if we can agree that 5 cfs bypass keeps the river alive without emptying the pond, we have a narrow path where both sides get something essential.