Dear Friend, Some good news to report as Senate Bill 1153 passed out of the Senate Rules Committee on Monday and is now in Ways and Means, but we need your help NOW to get it over the finish line. If signed into law, SB 1153 will require the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) to consider potential streamflow impacts as part of its existing process for reviewing proposed water right changes, called "transfers," for non-municipal users to upstream points of diversion, or wells that move within a quarter mile of a stream. Brought by Governor Kotek's office, SB 1153 has been championed throughout the 2025 legislative session by our Oregon Water Partnership coalition, which relies on the collective power of our seven statewide conservation groups to tackle Oregon's toughest water challenges. Our related bill SB 427 is now functionally dead in the legislature, so we've thrown our support behind SB 1153 as the best opportunity to make a difference for Oregon rivers this session — and we need your continued help! Recent amendments to SB 1153 reflect weeks of hard-fought negotiations with those who oppose it. The result is a narrower bill that focuses on water changes with the highest risk of harm for non-municipal users when points of diversion are moved upstream, and when moving a well within a quarter mile of a stream. SB 1153 needs to survive tough votes in the Senate and the House, so please take a moment to tell your state legislators that you support this common sense bill — and they should too! Here's how you can help: Email your Oregon state senator and representative TODAY and tell them to vote YES on SB 1153 (see the sample text below). It’s important that your state senator and representative hear from constituents like you so they can consider your input. To find your state senator and representative, type your address into the Find My Legislator website to get their names and email addresses. Your message doesn't have to be complicated. You're welcome to copy and paste the message below, but feel free to add your own experience about the value of healthy Oregon rivers and streams to further personalize your message. Please vote YES on Senate Bill 1153 to safeguard streamflows in water right transfers. Senate Bill 1153 helps to safeguard our streams — and the fish, wildlife, and water quality values they support — by ensuring a narrow subset of proposed water right changes won’t further diminish flows in unprotected streams. For non-municipal users, this will help guard against harm for most proposed upstream stream diversion changes or movement of groundwater wells within a quarter mile of streams.
This bill also enhances existing processes for tribal consultation with a goal of identifying and addressing potential impacts to tribal interests in water. I urge your support of SB 1153 and the life-sustaining streamflows it will safeguard. Sincerely, (your name) There's more at the Oregon Water Partnership's previous testimony on SB 1153 from earlier this year. Thank you for speaking up for our hard-working rivers and the ecosystems and livelihoods they sustain. For rivers and fish, The WaterWatch of Oregon Team | 
