New board elected to lead Kerby Ditch Association
From our weekly issue dated August 6, 2008
(Photo by Michelle Binker, Illinois Valley News)
The Kerby Ditch Association Board of Directors called a meeting for July 30 to disband the association, but members disagreed with the plan, deciding to retain the association, and elected a new board during the meeting held in the RCC Kerby Belt Bldg.
After 12 years of trying to convert the Kerby Ditch from an open irrigation ditch to a pipeline, the board had decided that little progress had been made. Board members expressed frustration with the obstacles they encountered, according to members Lloydeen Davis and Delores Chatghatzbanian. Davis commented that a stumbling block has been getting Illinois Valley Soil & Water Conservation District (IVSWCD) to help complete the project as promised. Other challenges have been trying to raise the money to build the pipeline, and obtaining easements for the pipeline to cross private property.
The old Kerby Ditch was decommissioned by the state and local government agencies 12 years ago.
The board serving during the past 12 years struggled with obtaining easements from land owners, new rules and limited help from government agencies, and lack of funding to build the new pipeline to pull irrigation water from the East Fork of the Illinois River.
Click here to learn more about how you can tell us what you think
The 55 association members hope that the new board will bring fresh energy to the beleaguered project, according to Davis.
Outgoing board members are Dave Paulsen, president; Esther Loncosky, treasurer; and Chatghatzbanian, secretary. The new board consists of President Bob Kerivan, Vice President Rebecca Kelly-Imbeahl, Treasurer Ted Davis and Secretary Joy Shinerock. All past and present directors are Kerby land owners and some operate businesses in Kerby.
Chatghatzbanian commented that the July 30 meeting went well. Association members now hope to “get ‘er done” in the foreseeable future, so that irrigation water again will be provided to properties and farms in the Kerby Ditch area, which includes part of Cave Junction.
A 1994 Bureau of Land Management report detailed an exhaustive assessment of the Kerby watershed. It described the geology, water, climate, history, biology and human activities of the area.
Advertisement:
It stated that the Oregon Dept. of Fush & Wildlife “screened all-known pump and ditch diversions on the mainstem of the Illinois River to prevent loss of juvenile salmonids.” The report stated that the Kerby Ditch began as a 1887 water right, which was supplemented in 1962. It diverted water from the East Fork near its confluence with the West Fork, and ran through Kerby and Cave Junction, ending at Reeves Creek.
In a June 4, 2007 report, Inland Rogue - Bear Creek Agricultural Water Quality Management Area Plans, the Inland Rogue Advisory Committee reported to the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture (ODA) on its work for the previous two years. From 1993 to 2005, ODA and Inland Rogue Advisory Committee worked on creating an area plan and rules in response to the 1993 Agricultural Water Quality Act.
The local committee is comprised of Illinois Valley land owners and individuals, nominated by IVSWCD. The report notes that state and local agencies assisted the local advisory committee in developing and implementing plans for agricultural water in accordance with a 1998 formal agreement.
History buffs will recall that the Kerby Ditch carried water for drinking and agricultural uses from Sucker Creek to farms and businesses in Illinois Valley, dating to 1887. It was an open ditch, with parts being a raised metal aqueduct, running south along a road that is now Hwy. 199. Parts of it still are visible from the highway.
It provided water for Kerbyville and Cave Junction for approximately 100 years. The Kerby Ditch eventually fell into disrepair, and parts of it were broken or blocked by gravel, rocks, trees and wear during the decades.
Around the time of the Kerby Ditch inception, the Kerby Ditch Association was formed. Members paid dues to maintain the ditch. In modern times, smaller properties paid $50 a year and larger ones paid more, according to their acreage.
Twelve years ago the Ditch was ordered abandoned by government agencies. Plans were drawn for a pipeline running from the East Fork of Illinois River to serve the same properties that the Kerby Ditch had. The old pump from Sucker Creek was disabled and parts of the ditch were screened by IVSWCD.
To date, no pipeline has actually been built to replace the whole Kerby Ditch. Dues are no longer collected from association members, since there is no Ditch to maintain.
The two largest properties along the Ditch, the Q Bar X Ranch and Jack Sauer’s farm, have run their own pipelines to Illinois River, rather than wait for the powers-that-be to complete the project. The smaller land owners have been left high and dry. Some residents rely on limited well water to irrigate their land or water their landscaping.
The new board faces plenty of challenges in raising money for fund-matching grants and obtaining help from state and local agencies to move the pipeline project forward. The new pipeline would carry irrigation water to small farms, businesses and the Kerbyville Museum.
Kerby residents are hopeful that they will be successful in partnering with IVSWCD and other agencies to achieve this goal.
