A graphic for Yachats’ annual “State of the City” presentation shows how an agreement with Southwest Lincoln Water PUD will ease concerns about drought and population increases. (City of Yachats)By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle
YACHATS – While the central Oregon coast usually receives enough rain during the winter to float an ark, most of that water quickly runs into the ocean, leaving the dry summer months susceptible to drought.
Last year, Lincoln County was the first county in the state to seek a drought emergency designation from the governor’s office. The county also received drought declarations in 2018, 2021 and 2023.
With rainfall totals this fall and winter notably below average, another early-summer drought declaration may well be on the horizon.
In past years the city of Yachats – which relies on Salmon and Reedy creeks for its water supply – has occasionally needed to implement water conservation restrictions. In 2017, the city was on the verge of declaring a shortage severe enough to closed motels.
But that all changed last summer after Yachats officials, who have been seeking a solution for years, reached an agreement with Southwest Lincoln Water PUD to supply water — if necessary — during the driest months.
The Yachats city council heard from water supervisor Rick McClung during a presentation about water capacity and demand at its monthly meeting Wednesday that the agreement with Southwest Lincoln will not only assuage water shortage concerns, but also allow the city to make progress on its goals of offering more affordable housing options and account for population growth.
McClung began by telling the council he had been invited to speak to the Planning Commission in the last couple months while they wrestled with the issue of accommodating code revisions around accessory dwelling units, maximum lot coverage and increased housing density.
McClung“And it occurred to me during those meetings that we really haven’t got the word out that we’re decoupling from water issues,” McClung said. “We have a contract with South Lincoln now that pretty much eliminates our concerns about water and the growth of Yachats.”
McClung then highlighted two graphics from last week’s state of the city presentation which shows the Southwest Lincoln agreement provides more than enough water now and into the projected future.
By leveraging the seasonal 100 gallons-per-minute agreement, the city has effectively uncoupled population growth with water scarcity concerns, according to information accompanying the graphs. And, according to the presentation, “The stable supply ensures that amending housing codes to allow for increased density will not jeopardize our water security, even during drought conditions.”
The city’s water master plan calculates the average amount of water used per person ranges from 75 to 100 gallons per day or 2,250 to 3,000 gallons per month.
The annual agreement with Southwest Lincoln was completed in August 2024. Under the agreement, the seasonal startup fee Yachats will pay each year to Southwest Lincoln is $10,000. It will then pay an additional amount per unit of water used based on whatever the “going rate” is at the time. Yachats is also restricted to getting about a million gallons of water a month.
Southwest Lincoln board president Roxie Cuellar, who attended Wednesday’s meeting, said a longer-term contract would likely be agreeable and that the reason the board made it seasonal was because they did not know what other needs Yachats might encounter.
“And (so) we decided that if you needed a year-long contract, it would be silly to have a seasonal contract as well,” Cuellar said. “So that’s where the board was talking about ‘Let’s just keep it a year at a time until we know what your future needs are’.”
The seasonal agreement is anytime between the months of August and December.
Possible land purchase
McClung said the city is also negotiating to purchase just under 300 acres of property from a timber company in the watershed above Salmon Creek. The money to make the purchase and manage the land for a healthier watershed would come from grants and possibly low-interest loans – with up to 50 percent forgivable – from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
While the land purchase would not add water capacity, it would ensure water security and quality, McClung said.
“For those of you who don’t know, about 10, 15 years ago when they logged it, it made Salmon Creek unusable for almost two years because of all the dirt,” McClung said. “Every time it would rain that creek would just turn to mud because there’s just a lot of dirt, a lot of open ground … Even after all this time, when we have a really heavy downpour, it turns to mud still.”
Planting a mix of native trees to grow on that acreage would eventually allow for the soil to stabilize and the land to retain more water during dry months. And McClung noted, had the timber company wanted to replant, they could have sprayed herbicides “And who knows how long that would block our use.”
City staff is also in discussions with the Mid-Coast Water Conservation Consortium, which is comprised of water providers in the county, and the fledgling Lincoln County Water Systems Alliance which is focused on regional water planning, McClung said.
“So Yachats has really taken this by the horns,” he said. “And we should be kind of celebrating our accomplishments now … that we are moving in a real positive direction.”
Mayor Craig Berdie cautioned that while future water capacity and demand studies show enough water, they are unable to account for variables like climate change or the building of a large hotel, which McClung said account for about half of the city’s water use.
“Well, I don’t think that there’s an action at this point, it’s just informational,” Berdie said in closing. “But this is something we do want to keep a very close eye on.”
Contract deputy
The city council also heard from city manager Bobbi Price that because of staff shortages and hiring freezes at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Yachats’ contracted half-time deputy it shares with Waldport has been reduced to a quarter-time deputy.
Under the original 2024 contract, Waldport paid to have one full-time deputy policing its city while also splitting another full-time deputy with Yachats.
Price“Recently they (LCSO) have experienced a 50 percent shortage in their deputies on patrol, which has consequentially affected our contract service,” Price said. “They’ve had to pull our contract deputies out for county service.”
Waldport lost its full-time deputy in December, she added.
“Waldport has a bit of a different dynamic in their community than us and half of a deputy is not enough for them and they are really seeing the effect of that,” Price said. “So we had a meeting to discuss all of these points with the sheriff’s department yesterday…and we all agreed that it’s really not enough for Waldport and the size of their community and the level of criminal mischief they have happening there.”
But Price said Yachats did not want to lose its service — “which has been great” – and something the city wants to maintain, which eventually led to the compromise of both cities taking a hit.
In meeting with the sheriff’s office, Price and Waldport’s city manager also looked to get a clearer picture on what it would take for the department to fill the six vacant deputy positions. The county has been in a hiring freeze this past year, which has affected the hiring, but Price said they are working on it and hope to get staffing levels back to being able to provide the contracted number of deputies by July.
The council will write a letter of appreciation to the sheriff’s office and the county commissioners for providing the deputies while also advocating to the county and its budget committee to lift the hiring freeze in the sheriff’s office because of the importance to public safety.
In addition to the contract deputy, there is one additional deputy who patrols south county as a whole.
In other business
- A final hearing on vacation rental ordinance clarifications is scheduled for the March 18 council meeting.
- Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at [email protected]
When reading the articles about the Mid-Coast Water Conservation Coalition, I saw an estimated cost to run a waterline under the Alsea Bay for $3 million. That would not be close to the actual cost. As the former Port of Alsea manager, I know how shallow the Bay is. The line would need to be buried deep to avoid any damage and to clear the navigable channel on the north side of the Bay. The Port did a small amount of dredging when the new marina was put in and it cost $330,000. I would be surprised if the waterline could be engineered and installed for under $20 million. And for what purpose? So the Southwest Lincoln County Water PUD could send water north of the Bay? Our obligation is first and foremost to our ratepayers and then we try to help our neighbors such as Yachats with water during the drier months. Adding additional bureaucracy adds to the cost of providing water to our ratepayers. Before that happens, there should be a thorough discussion of what the actual benefits would be.
The Rick McClung report is based on legacy data of our water plant supply/demand. There is no evidence in the report that factors in the future impacts of climate change that also impacts the water supply sources for SWLCPUD. During the summer season the hotter weather in the Willamette Valley drives more tourists to Yachats where they escape the heat and more and more frequent wildlife smoke. Climate change will expand that scenario in the future all while the central Oregon Coast itself experiences dryer summer seasons increasing the demand on our water supply. In my opinion we should not increase population through zoning changes as this will ultimately drive up our water/sewer rates as we attempt to accommodate the ever increasing flow of inland tourists who are escaping the summer heat and wildfire smoke.
The analysis by Mr. McClung fails to address the future effects of climate change upon supply and demand. Scientists at Oregon State University and Scripps Institute of Oceanography have concluded that summer to early fall precipitation will decrease significantly along the central coast and coast range leading to reduced supply. Warmer temperatures in the Willamette Valley have been demonstrated in past years to increase water needs in tourist cities along the central coast presumably from more tourists coming from the valley to the coast during hotter weather. With climate change in the decades to come, this increased need will likely accelerate. The expected climate change effects on supply and demand should be considered before making land use decisions that will have impacts for decades to come.