August 19, 2026
Dear Water Patron,
Rogue River Valley Irrigation District was ready to start moving water for the 2026 season as of April 27th. As I’m sure you are aware, the Governor did declare Drought Emergency on April 23, 2026 for Jackson County due to the drier than normal winter.
Because of the lack of snow pack and little to no stream flow this year, it forced the district to cut the season short. The District had to shut off water on August 10, 2026 as we have depleted all of our supply.
Thanks to all of you for understanding the serious drought situation we find ourselves in. I can assure you that the crew and staff did all they could with the limited supply of water that we had. Our hope is for more snow in the mountains and rain in the valley for the 2027 season and that we don’t have a repeat of the 2026 season.
Sincerely,
Brian Hampson
District Manager
Update on Fourmile Reservoir
RRVID is still very active in trying to protect our water within the Fourmile Reservoir. We will continue to fight this fight because of the impact it will have on the districts water supply, as well as the possible impacts it will have on the biological opinion that we fought so hard for and resulted in our non-jeopardy opinion. We have begun to have conversations with the Klamath Tribes regarding our concern about the call on Fourmile water. Again, the Klamath Tribes do have the senior water right to ours, but that does not mean that it is a good or a valid call and that is where we will continue to make our case.
Many of the issues that we will be raising fall under “Attorney Client Privilege” and therefore I am not at liberty to discuss this in depth at this time. I am more than happy to talk with you about it, but please understand ahead of time, that if you call me, I am limited in what I can discuss and what questions I can answer.
How this affects us, will depend on when the Klamath Tribes make a call. If the tribes make a year-round call, we may never see stored water in Fourmile again. If Klamath Lake fills, then the water call is not good and we go back to enjoying the storage that accumulates that year or we come up with a legal solution that allows us to use the water even if the tribes make a call and Klamath Lake is not full.
Please be assured that myself, as well as the RRVID Board of Directors, M I D and T I D and along with our legal team … we are doing everything we can to protect the water that the Rogue Valley lrrigators have enjoyed for well over 100 years. In closing, my hope is that we all have a very successful 2024 water season and we continue to get snow in the mountains and rain in the valley.
Sincerely,
Brian Hampson
District Manager