SALEM — Supporters of a $250 million “water security” package are betting Oregon’s lawmakers haven’t lost their appetite for water-related investments, despite spending heftily on drought relief two years ago.

The newly-introduced legislation aims to build on outlays made in 2021 to buttress Oregon’s water resilience, while multiplying the financial impact with federal infrastructure dollars.

Advocates for House Bill 3124 and associated proposals realize there’s plenty of competition for tax dollars in 2023, but they’re hoping the statewide threat of water scarcity remains a powerful motivator.

“There’s a lot of rural Oregon that doesn’t see themselves in semi-conductors, there’s a lot of rural Oregon that doesn’t see themselves in the I-5 bridge,” said Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane, referring to major spending bills focused on the tech economy and transportation.

“There’s a lot of rural Oregon that will see themselves in this package,” Owens said.

Lawmakers are facing tough spending decisions, but prioritizing “matching funds” in the water legislation will provide access to a massive federal investment in infrastructure projects, he said.

“This is a federal funding opportunity that probably won’t be repeated in our lifetime,” Owens said of the $1 trillion nationwide infrastructure bill passed in 2021.

Owens and Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, appeared fully aware of the potential for sticker shock while explaining their bipartisan water security package to the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water on March 16.

“This is a number that might make you gasp,” Helm warned of the $111 million slated for water projects in the legislation.

Modernizing irrigation systems represents about $70 million of that amount, which would pay for such upgrades as piping open canals to prevent seepage and evaporation.

The funding would refine and develop proposals so they qualify for federal funding, while unlocking federal dollars for those that are already “shovel ready.”

“These projects are pretty big, pretty expensive and the federal money is already there,” Helm said.

While the water security legislation is extensive, it’s important to keep in mind that it works entirely within the parameters of existing state water laws, he said.

Changes to those statutes, which some consider antiquated, would be met with “huge resistance” and require involvement from “completely different players,” Helm said.

“This is not in any way a rewrite of Western water law,” he said.

The legislation would pay for data collection and analysis that began in 2021 and will be critical to water-related decisions, Helm said. Information about some regions has greatly improved but it’s still “pretty thin” in most areas.

The legislation’s data and analysis component, along with provisions for planning and coordination, would cost more than $22 million.

“That is ongoing and we need to continue to fund it,” he said.

Money would be directed to rebuilding water structures that impede fish passage and working with the landscape to slow water down and enhance its filtration, cooling and storage.

“There’s a lot we can do with natural systems we forget about,” Owens said.

These investments in watershed health, including targeted projects in Central and Southeast Oregon, would represent roughly $38.5 million of the package.

Nearly $56 million would be spent on resources for agriculture, such as drought relief and adaption programs, while another $19.5 million would go to protecting and improving community water systems.

Finally, outreach and engagement would cost more than $3 million, to ensure the public understands various water-related programs and investments.

Lawmakers can come up with great policies but undermine themselves if people feel shut out of the process, Owens said. “Sometimes we forget that if we’re not bringing our communities along with that, we’re setting ourselves up to fail.”