Management:

A. The District’s affairs shall be managed by the Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors may delegate the daily operational decisions to the Operations Manager or Business Manager (“Management”), who shall be appointed by and report directly to the Board.  During any period when a Management position is vacant, the Board shall assume the responsibilities of the Operations Manager or Business Manager.

B. The maintenance and operation of the facilities of the District shall be under the exclusive management and control of the Operations Manager.  No other person, except District employees, shall have any right to regulate District facilities in any manner, except with the express permission of the Operations Manager.

C. Management is authorized to act in emergencies on matters not covered by these Rules and Regulations; however the Manager’s actions are subject to approval of the Board of Directors at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting following action in such an emergency.

Meetings of the Board of Directors:

A. Notice of all meeting of the Board of Directors shall be provided to the public.  Such notice shall include the time and place of the meeting, and the principal subjects to be considered at the meeting.  For regular meetings, the notice shall be in the form of an agenda which shall be posted at the District office and sent to all Board members.

B. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors will be held on the first Tuesday of each month commencing at 6 p.m.

C. The annual meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held on the first Tuesday in January of each year.  At that meeting, the Board of Directors shall elect a president and appoint a vice president/secretary, and establish the date the Board shall next meet as a board of equalization under ORS 545.416.

D. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called in the manner provided by the Statutes of the State of Oregon.

E. The District is subject to Oregon’s Public Meeting Law.  Subject to some exception, the District Board of Directors will allow public testimony or comment on any action item.

F. Each Director shall be paid an annual fee.

G. No person may smoke or carry any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe or other smoking equipment into a room where the Board of Directors is holding a meeting.

Crop Reports:

A. At the close of each irrigation season, the District will obtain from each land owner a crop census report covering the number of acres and production of each variety of crops grown or acres used for pasture. These individual reports are confidential and are required for statistical data as a requirement of the District’s repayment contract with the United States Bureau of Reclamation. A summary of the information received, for the District as a whole, is submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation. The individual reports you submit to the District are not forwarded to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Operation and Maintenance of Project Works:

A. The District was organized for the purpose of supplying irrigation service for farm crops. Water quality and District facilities are not suitable for domestic use.

B.  The operation of the District work shall be under the general supervision of the Operations Manager subject to the approval of the Board of Directors. The Operations Manager shall develop operating plans and submit the same to the Board of Directors for approval, rejection or modification.

C. Management shall, at such times as he or she deems proper, or upon request of the Board of Directors, submit to the Board of Directors individual items of the District’s maintenance, replacement or expansion program, together with estimated costs thereof, and the proposed method of obtaining necessary materials and supplies. Upon approval by the Board, Management shall proceed with such projects.  Management may, in a matter of emergency, commence repairs or replacements without prior approval of the Board of Directors, but shall; report any such activities to the Board at the earliest practicable time.

D. Any cooperative agreement between the landowner and the District must be approved by the Board of Directors before work commences.

Water Assessments:

A. Water assessments are established annually by the Board of Directors based upon the budgeted cost of operating the District. The Board must follow the requirements of the Oregon Revised Statutes for billing to make sure the District is self-sustained.

B. Assessments are to be paid each year whether or not water is used or available, without exception. Assessments are mailed within the first two weeks of December with a due date of April 1st. Warren Act patrons are due March 1st. Non-receipt of invoiced notice is not sufficient reason for non-payment. Please call the District office if the assessment is not received by March 1st. It is the water user’s responsibility to notify the District office of any mailing address changes as they occur.

Transfer of Water Allocation:

A. Land owners may transfer a designated amount of their water allotment to another parcel on the same respected side. The transfer is a private matter between land owners. Each land owner and the Business Manager must sign the Water Transfer Form at the District office. All transfers will be reviewed by the Board of Directors.

Non - Use of Water:

A. Land owners who no longer need their water allocation due to subdivisions or land use changes must notify the District of such non-use so the District may petition for a transfer of the water right to other irrigable land under the Oregon Revised Statutes.

Irrigated Land Leased by Owner:

A.  A land owner who leases land must notify the District of who is paying the assessment and who is allowed to order water.

B. The District will communicate with the lessee but the land owner is the ultimate responsible party.

Irrigation Season:

A. The normal irrigation season shall be from May 1 to September 30 each year.  These dates are subject to change in relation to seasonal weather conditions and availability of water supply.  The Board of Directors may shorten or lengthen the irrigation season as required each year.  Water shall be delivered on a call system.  Startup will occur when a minimum of 40 cfs per side is ordered.

                a. 40 cfs is the lowest flow each Reservoir needs to operate efficiently.

B. The Board of Directors, after advising itself of a supply and demand of water for the coming season, will set the amount of water to be delivered to each water user’s diversion works, for that season and the amount set shall be for the following season only.  In setting the amounts of water to be delivered, the Board will, when possible retain sufficient carry-over in the reservoir for continuous water service from year to year.

C. In the case of shortage of water in reservoirs or in the event of restricted capacity in canals during the peak of the irrigation season, water shall be distributed equitably for use on the assessed acreage.  The District reserves the right to limit any land owner to an agreed upon acre feet per acre for that irrigation.

D. Ditch Riders must give 48 hour notice to patrons before turning water on at the Reservoirs and 48 hour notice when shutting off for the end of the irrigation season.

Delivery of Water:

A. Delivery of water will be allocated to each water user by the Board of Directors and the ditch rider will be held responsible for the daily accounting of water delivery, including diversion of water to private ditches, and for the operation of District laterals and structures in the ditch rider’s respective area.

B. The District will measure the amount of water delivered and its measurements shall be final.

C. Water is accounted for in 12 hour blocks; being charged for the 12 hour block turned on, duration of irrigation and the 12 hour block when turned off.

                          a.  For 24, 36 and 48 hour irrigation sets, Ditch Riders will make note to ensure these short irrigations are accounted for properly.

D. The Ditch Rider will turn in water accounting to the Office every Monday and updated water usage will be available to patrons every Tuesday in the Office.

E. Water delivery request by the water users shall be made by telephone, text or in person to the ditch rider on duty or Operations Manager, 24 hours before delivery.  The District reserves the right to defer delivery in instances when required by the capacity of the system for a period of three (3) days.

F. Notice of shut off shall be given no less than 24 hours prior to the time of shut off.

G.  All orders received for water and not cancelled prior to 24 hours the day preceding delivery, should such water be available, shall be charged against the quota of the person making the request for delivery until such time as further use of the water available can be found or until the water is shut off at the head works.

H. No standing orders will be permitted. No orders of more than three days prior to the requested delivery date will be honored. In the case of a shortage of water, water will be delivered to each water user in rotation, based upon the time and date each water order was received and the length of time from the last irrigation.

I. Each tract of land within the District has at least one original point of delivery, at which point water is turned onto the land by the District and at which point the water user accepts the responsibility of the efficient use of the water. This original point of delivery is maintained for each tract even though many subdivisions of the original tract have been made.

J. The District reserves the right to stop delivery of water at any time the water user is wasting water by running excessive water into barrow pits or drains.

K. Only District employees will be allowed to operate head gates, turnouts, valves, or other control devices or to adjust or place flash boards in checks.  The District, at its option, may lock any or all head gates, turnouts, spillways, or other control devices.  Any person who, in any way interferes with the settings or adjustment of such head gates, turnouts, valves or checks shall be held strictly liable for any damage resulting there from and may be subject to fines under Oregon Revised Statutes.  The ditch rider may with the consent of the Operations Manager, grant permission under certain conditions to a water user to shut off or turn on water or adjust checks in order to facilitate water delivery and conserve water.

L. Any person who takes water out of his turn and without the knowledge and permission of his ditch rider will have his head gate locked and he will have to appear before the Board of Directors at their next regular meeting before he will be able to receive irrigation water.  He shall also be subject to the Laws of the State of Oregon.

M. All discharges of water from field into District drains or ditches shall be made into the water areas of such drains or ditches through pipes or boxes in a manner that will prevent the erosion of the banks into drains or ditches.

N. No rental water shall be pumped from any canal or ditch of the District without prior contact having been made with Management and the Board of Directors and the payment in advance of the irrigation season.  The Operations Manager will measure pump areas where necessary to determine charges to be made, lands below the ditches having first priority on the water of the ditches, and at any time of shortage of water, pumping will be shut off so long as such shortage continues and resumes upon authority of the ditch rider or Operations Manager.

Head Gates, Pumps, Diversion Structures:

A. No further head gates, pumps or other diversion structures shall be placed in the canals of the District except upon demand by a water user or users and approval by the Board of Directors.  Any such additional diversion structures shall, upon approval by the Board of Directors, be installed by the District at the expense of the water user or users requesting the same.  Such expenses include labor and materials.  The cost of maintenance of any such additional diversion structure be borne by the owner or owners of lands benefited thereby.

B. If a landowner connects a pipe to any District structures, a totalizing flow meter must be installed at the landowner’s expense.

Bridges:

A. All bridges and crossings over District canals and laterals shall be installed and maintained at the expense of the landowner for whose convenience they may be installed.

B. Bridges and crossing shall be installed in accordance with District specifications and shall be subject to final approval by the Board of Directors.  All required Bureau of Reclamation permits shall be obtained by the land owner at their expense.

C. Bridges and crossings not meeting District specifications or constructed without prior approval by the Manager shall be removed by the land owner or removed by District employees at the cost of the landowner.

Subdivisions:

A. Anyone subdividing a tract or tracts of land subject to the District’s charges or assessment will be held responsible for:

     1)  notifying the District of the proposed changes and obtaining District approval of the design for the delivery system before making any changes to a subdivided tract;

     2) delivery of the District’s water to any subdivided portion of the original tract or tracts, and

     3) providing the necessary easements and delivery system from the original point of delivery for said tract to each of the portions of the subdivided tract and inside the subdivision as needed.

B.  Before making any changes to a subdivided tract that may affect District facilities, the sub divider must submit an application and obtain the authorization of the Board of Directors to alter District facilities.  This includes the relocation, construction, or reconstruction of any District facility or of any road or crossing any ditch, lateral, canal, easement or right-or-way owned or controlled by the District.  The application shall include a subdivision plat showing all proposed easements, rights-of-way, and facilities; and any roads or crossings, new and existing, or rights-of-way.  The developer shall be solely responsible for all costs related to the relocation, construction, reconstruction, or crossing of any District facility, including necessary attorney fees for the negotiation or review of any documents or agreements.

C. Upon receiving authorization from the Board of Directors, the sub divider shall develop the subject property in a manner that does not adversely affect any of the District’s facilities or subsequent users’ rights.

D. Any person who sells contracts to sell, leases, purchases or contracts to purchase any part of an existing tract shall not look to the District to provide right-of-way, water transmission facilities, or maintenance of said facilities from the original point of delivery or the original tact.  All private delivery systems from the original point of delivery are to be the sole responsibility of either the sub divider or the individual tract owners.  The District has no obligation to regulate the timing or allocation of water deliveries beyond the point of delivery to the original tract as it existed in 1918.

E. Seller of property to be divided shall be responsible for a legal survey defining the irrigated acres in each parcel and location of any rights of way if any delivery systems needed to supply the water past the original delivery point.  The fore said delivery system maintenance is the responsibility of the owner of subdivided land.

Pumping:

A. All landowners using pumps to lift water from the District’s canals will be subject to these Rules and Regulations in the same manner as if they were gravity deliveries.  All pump installations must be approved by Management and there must be a valve control gate in the ditch on the outside of the pump house. This requirement will apply to old as well as new installations.  All such installations shall be placed in such a manner that no checking of the canal or lateral will be required to deliver water to them.

B. The Operations Manager may permit landowners using pumps to pump out of rotation when it is in the best interest of the District and for the conservation of water.  No pumping out of rotation shall be permitted which shall interfere with other irrigators using water from such lateral or canal having a full supply of water on a rotation basis.

C. Pumping of the District water is done at the water user’s risk and the District assumes no liability for damages to pumping equipment or other damages as a result of turbulent water.

D. All landowners using pumps must have a low water shut down device.

E.  All landowners using pumps to lift water from the District must operate with the same turn on and shut off date as the District.

F. All landowners using pumps to lift water from the District must notify the Ditch Rider of usage, turn on and off, just like a normal gravity delivery for accounting purposes.

Access to Lands and Ditches:

A. Any officer, employee, ditch rider, or other authorized personnel of the District may enter upon the land of a water user of the District for inspection, maintenance, and regulation of ditches, pipelines, gate, pumps or other water works.  In the absence of an emergency, the District shall provide adequate and appropriate notice prior to entering upon the land of the water user.

B. No fences, ditches, or other obstructions shall be placed across or upon any District canal bank without special permission of the Operations Manager and Board of Directors and then only with the understanding that suitable openings or gates will be provided to enable District employees to travel said canal banks without hindrance.  The Operations Manager shall have the right to remove all fences or obstructions constructed contrary to these provisions at the expense of the landowner. The temporary fences and other obstructions need to be removed before water reaches that section of ditch.

Procedure for Water Distribution Works:

A. Whenever the District shall deem it expedient or necessary to construct, repair, or maintain ditches, flumes, dikes, aqueduct or other improvements or to employ the services of some competent person to distribute and apportion water for any subdivision, the District shall declare such necessity by resolution.

B. The resolution shall be posted at the District office for five days.  Within ten days from the date when the resolution is posted the owner of the property within the tract may file a written remonstrance against the proposed improvement or employment.  After a hearing on the remonstrance, the District in its discretion, may overrule any remonstrance and by a resolution order construction, repair or maintenance of the improvements and apportion costs and assessments upon each tract benefited.  The assessments shall be final and conclusive.

Private Laterals:

A. All gates on private ditches shall be subject to District access and inspection when used by more than one water user.  Nevertheless, the District will not construct, maintain, or control private delivery systems.  Privately maintained laterals and other facilities served by the District must be in good condition so as to prevent loss of water and permit regular flow.  The Operations Manager shall not permit delivery of water into facilities, which are not adequately prepared and maintained.  The District is not responsible for defects in privately maintained facilities.  When more than one water user is on a private lateral, each water user shall provide their own diversion facilities and provide his own distribution system.

B. Water users must not build earth dams in the private laterals.  It shall be the duty of each user of a private lateral to patrol said lateral from his point of diversion to the main lateral as many times each day as necessary to remove obstructions and stop all leakage while irrigation.  Water users shall not turn water down a private lateral without first making satisfactory arrangements with the water users next in rotation to receive the water.  The last one on the private lateral should notify the District’s office when all water users on the private lateral have completed their irrigation so the ditch rider can turn the water back to the main canal.

C. Where ditches are owned by two or more persons and one or more such persons fails or neglects to do his proportionate share of the maintenance necessary for the proper operation of the ditch, the owner desiring the maintenance may, after having given ten (10) days written notice to the other owner who has failed to perform his proportionate share of work, perform such share and recover from the person in default the reasonable expense of the work as provided in ORS 540.420.

D. At the District’s discretion, and as time allows, the District may do irrigation related work at the landowner’s expense (private ditch cleaning, cat work, etc.). The District will only allow the use of equipment within the District boundaries.

Duties of Water Users:

A. Every person in the District should feel a personal responsibility in helping keep down expenses.  This can be done by avoiding doing any damage to canals and structures; by stopping small leaks, reporting weak places and breaks, and not taking out or putting in flash boards or raising or lowering gates except under direct supervision of the ditch rider and by following his directions when so doing, and also by not turning the water loose at night or at any other time.

B. It shall be the duty of every District landowner and /or water user to use due care to avoid damage to District’s canals, rights-of-way, or other facilities.  The landowner’s and/or water users shall be liable for any damage, intentional or negligent, including damage from livestock under their possession or control.  If such damages do occur, the District may assess damages against the offending individual or entity.

C. It shall be the duty of the water users to use the water continuously night and day, Sundays, and holidays. Until that particular irrigation is completed. Water users who  turn the water back into the ditch at night or on Sundays or holidays will be considered to have used the water during such period and the water will be passed on to other users.

D. Water must not be wasted.  Careless and wasteful use of water will be sufficient grounds for the ditch rider to reduce the size of the stream to one which the ditch rider believes the irrigator can handle economically.  If, after reduction of the stream, the irrigator is still careless and wasteful, the water will be shut off from such user until the water user prepares to make better use of same, to the satisfaction of the ditch rider or Operations Manager.

E.  Persons wasting water on roads or vacant land either willfully, carelessly, or because of defective ditches or poorly prepared land, or who shall flood certain portions of land to an unreasonable depth to properly irrigate other portions, or who use water on land not authorized for irrigation by the Board of Directors, may be refused the use of water until such conditions are remedied.

F. If any water user shuts off a water delivery without giving proper 24 hour notice, the water user will be liable to the District and any individual land owners that suffer damages because of increased flow of water upon their land.

G. No new bridges, fences, fence crossing, stock gates, pipe or utility crossings, or other facilities either above ground or subterranean, may be constructed crossing or otherwise locking or impairing the District’s property and rights-of-way, including canal banks, unless, the same has been provided for in written rights-of-way, easements, crossing agreements, license agreements, and the party proposing to build such facility has executed a written agreement with the District, subject to District specifications for construction and maintenance paid all costs related to District’s review, negotiation, and approval of such agreement.

H. All plans to construct any new structure within a District right-of-way or easement must be submitted to the Business Manager for approval.  Such structures must be submitted to the District’s satisfaction.

I. The District shall have the right to remove all fences, obstructions, or to fill in ditches constructed contrary to these provisions.

J. In the event of destruction or damage to District property as a result of negligence of a water user, such property shall be replaced or repaired and the cost of such replacement or repair shall be collected from the water user or users whose negligence was the cause of such destruction or damage.

K. Water users must comply with the Rules and Regulations of the District and those set forth by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Complaints:

A. Any claim for shortage or irregularity in the delivery of water shall be made to Management within 24 hours of the occurrence. Complaints should be made verbally and in writing to the ditch rider or Management will stand by the ditch rider’s records.

B. Management or authorized employee shall upon receipt of any such complaint endeavor to settle the dispute to the satisfaction of both parties.

C. Any water user dissatisfied with the decision of Management or authorized employee may appeal to the Board of Directors, in writing within 5 days, who shall render a decision as soon as practicable and the decision of the Board of Directors shall be final.

D. Any patron that is related to District employees shall bring complaint directly to the Board of Directors.

Problem Resolution:

A. If a water user is experiencing a problem they need help with resolving, they should first contact their Ditch Rider. If the Ditch Rider does not resolve the situation satisfactorily, the water user should contact Management. In the event Management and water user are not able to resolve the issue, at the request of the water user, it will be placed on the Board of Directors next regular meeting agenda for discussion.

Delinquencies in Payments:

A. The District will withhold delivery of water from any tract of land until all outstanding charges or assessments are paid, whether such charges and assessments are for operation and maintenance, delinquent payment, repairs, construction, or other purposes.  Interest shall be charged and collected on the assessment or unpaid charges at the rate of one percent per month, or fraction of a month until paid.  In case of liability to meet this requirement; landowners shall present their case to the Board of Directors.

Liens and Foreclosures:

A. If water charges are not paid when due, the District may place a lien upon the billed property of the District water user in the total amount of the unpaid water charges, interest and penalties pursuant to the Oregon Revised Statutes.

B. A lien on the property may be filed any time after a charge becomes past due in the total amount of the unpaid water charges, interest, penalties, and expenses, including attorney fees.  Such lien may be filed on lands that received the benefit of the water or were entitled to receive the benefit of the water.

C. Any time after filing a notice of claim of lien by the Board of Directors, the Board may, by resolution, direct that all delinquent charges be foreclosed upon by the District.  The Board of Directors has set the foreclosure date as three years from the first non-payment of charges (at the latest), to allow the District time to transfer the water rights before they are lost due to non-use.

Non- Liability of District:

A. The District will not be liable for any damages resulting directly or indirectly from any unauthorized uses or trespassing on District property or facilities or from any private ditch or the water flowing therein; and its responsibility shall absolutely cease when the water is delivered to an original point of delivery according to these Rules and Regulations.

B. The District will not be liable for any damage to landowners’ personal property on District rights of way.

C. Most of the water furnished by the District flows through many miles of open ditches and is subject to pollution, shortages, fluctuation in flow, and interruption in service.  The District will not make any agreement which binds the district to serve an uninterrupted constant supply of water.

D.  All water furnished by the District will be for irrigation purposes and any water user putting the water to other uses does so at his own risk and by doing so assumes all liability therefore and agrees to hold the District, its officers and employees free and harmless from any liability and damage that may occur.

E. Pumping by water users is done at users’ risk and the District assumes no liability for damages as a result of turbulent water, shortage or excess of water, or other causes.

F. The District will not be liable for natural drainage.

Unlawful Acts:

A. The District may bring a civil action for damages against any person who knowingly and willfully commits the unauthorized use of water.  Pursuant to ORS 30.184, the District shall recover from the defendant the amount of actual damage incurred plus punitive damages.  The District shall also recover the cost of the suit, reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees.  The remedies provided for in ORS 30.186 are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any and all other remedies, civil or criminal, provided by law.  Unlawful acts include any of the following:

    1. ORS 164.775 prohibits any person from discarding any glass, cans or other trash, rubbish debris or litter on land within 100 yards of any of waters of state other than in receptacles provided for purpose such material or from discarding these materials in waters of the state.

    2. ORS 164.785 prohibits any person, including a person in the possession or control of any land, from discarding any dead animal carcass or part thereof, excrement, putrid, nauseous, noisome, decaying, deleterious or offensive substance into or in any other manner befouls, pollutes or impairs the quality of any irrigation drainage ditch or irrigation ditch.

    3. ORS 164.365 prohibits any person from intentionally damaging or destroying property of the District directly or by intentionally interfering with, obstructing or altering in any manner the service of the District; or intentionally using, manipulating, arranging or rearranging the property of the District.

    4. ORS 468B.028 prohibits any person from causing the pollution of any waters of the state or from placing or causing to be placed any wastes in a location where such wastes are likely to escape or be carried into the waters of the state by any means; or from discharging any wastes into the waters of the state if the discharge reduces the quality of such waters below the water quality standards established by rule for such waters by the Environmental Quality Commission.

    5. ORS 540.990 states; any person who, in any way, willfully interferes with the setting or adjustment of head gates, turnout, valves or checks shall be held strictly liable for any damage resulting there from and may be subject to fines and imprisonment.

B.  In addition, no person shall place or dump tree or vine pruning, brush, weeds, grass, manure, rubbish, garbage, swill, refuse, dead animal or other materials or substance that will be or become offensive to the sense or injurious to health or injuriously affect the water quality, obstruct the flow of water or result in the scattering of seeds of noxious weeds, plants or grasses in any District canal, ditch, conduit, or reservoir.  Nor shall such substances be placed or left as to roll, slide, flow or be washed or blown into any canal, ditch, conduit, or reservoir.  All employees of the District shall promptly report any violation of this rule, and the people of the District are especially urged to cooperate in its enforcement.

Rules and Regulations Effective:

A. These Rules and Regulations of the Langell Valley Irrigation District shall be in effect on and after October 5, 2021.  Upon the effective date, all existing District Rules and Regulations, including those adopted in 1926, 1963, 2006 and 2013 will be superseded by these Rules and Regulations.  These Rules and Regulations are subject to change by the Board of Directors at a regular session at any time to suit any special conditions, which may arise.

B. In addition, the Board of Directors shall conduct a review of these Rules and Regulations every five years and update them as necessary.

C. The foregoing Rules and Regulations were adopted by Resolution by the Board of Directors of the Langell Valley Irrigation District on this fifth day of October 2021 in regular session.