Water Restoration Certificate

ClimeCo is proud to partner with Bonneville Environmental Foundation to offer Water Restoration Certificates®

Every Water Restoration Certificate® (WRC) you buy does more than just support water restoration. Each WRC purchase supports Bonneville Environmental Foundation‘s mission to restore freshwater ecosystems, prepare the next generation for clean energy jobs, and catalyze a clean energy future. WRCs protect waterways to ensure environmental and social benefits by restoring flows, improving efficiency, and revitalizing natural systems.

Restoring the Middle Deschutes Means Finding Balance in the Basin

The Deschutes River starts high in the Cascade Mountains at Little Lava Lake. It flows through two reservoirs, Crane Prairie and Wickiup, on its way to the City of Bend. Irrigation water storage in and release from these two reservoirs cause low winter and high summer streamflows.

In the western US, water rights can typically be lost over time if non-use of the water source is demonstrated or if the water has not been used for a certain number of years. This “use it or lose it” policy can encourage inefficient water practices because landowners are forced to use all of their allotted water whether they need it or not. Diverted water is leaving many streams completely dry or with so little water that they can’t support fish, wildlife, and recreation.

Thankfully, ecological purposes, such as maintaining a natural body of water and the wildlife that depends on it, have been accepted as beneficial uses in some jurisdictions. This means that water rights holders can officially restore water to rivers and streams without giving up their valuable water rights forever. The Middle Deschutes River project is designed to facilitate the lease or transfer of water rights to be used for the benefit of the environment. By leaving water in the stream where it is protected and unavailable for any other use, WRCs help dewatered rivers and streams become healthy and flowing again.

Through two decades of cooperative efforts, partners working on the Middle Deschutes have restored nearly 135 cubic feet per second of summer streamflow—up from just 2% of natural flow—marking significant progress toward revitalizing the river’s ecosystem and recreational potential, with a goal of reaching 250 cubic feet per second through continued water conservation, leasing, and purchases.