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WATER RIGHTS
&
WATER SYSTEM
Water Easement
All ecovillage development projects start with water rights and the ability to obtain the water contracts for potable, municipal, industrial, hydroelectric and farming operations. The RREVDR land has a pre- existing water easement from Jackson County. A civil engineer on a previous development project concerning this land believes a pump station could be placed on a Rogue River river frontage parcel after the water rights applications are made and approved. An even better permaculture designed solution is to create a Diverter Channel coming right off the Rogue River that forms the mouth of complex canal system feeding into irrigation & agriculture, municipal, potable, return circuits.
Jackson County Water Easement
The Preexisting water easement was obtained from Jackson County on one of the river front parcels and it is estimated from the engineer on a previous development project concerning this land that after the water rights applications are made and approved, which should be routine, a pump station could probably be placed on river frontage parcel. This is an incredible legal water right that is rare, unique and exceptional to be able to draw water directly from the historic Rogue River. This water source is combined with wells, overflow returns and reservoir lake create the hydro-electric power system.
Water Contracts
The RREVDR water rights includes the ability to apply for the allo- cation of new water usage from additional water availability stored at Lost Creek Lake as controlled by 2 federal agencies-- Bureau of Recla-mation and US Army Corps of Engineers. Water usage must be clearly identified as to the purpose of the water and the amounts needed. Water use applications can be made to the USACOE and the Bureau of Reclamation. Once the water contracts are secured from these 2 agencies listed below, then the water rights are applied through the Oregon State Water Resources.
The Bureau of Reclamation
Additional water is available from water stored at Lost Creek Lake. Currently, plenty of water is available for water usage agreements. BOR is a lower cost but is generally available for irrigation purposes only and the water agreements are charged an annual fee depending on the water usage applied for,
US Army Corps of Engineering
Additional water is available from water stored at Lost Creek Lake. Currently, plenty of water is available for water usage agreements. BOR is a lower cost but is generally available for irrigation purposes only and the water agreements are charged an annual fee depending on the water usage aaplication.
William L. Jess Dam, Impounding Lost Creek Lake
Water Canals-- Integrated Water Harvesting & Delivery System
RREVDR has created a spectacular yet complex and elaborate water channel delivery system that begins at the Rogue River with a diverter channel coming right off the Rogue River. The Diverter Channel forms the beginning of a V channel circuit with dedicated natural looking rock-banked canals routed for potable, municipal, industrial. hydro-electric and farming operations. Borrowing from the ancient Meso- potamian and Byzantine civilizations, our design systems is a series of rock banked water canal circuits, interfacing with seasonal creeks, collection ponds, rain cisterns, storm rain run-off catches, irrigation ponds and over flows return water back to the reservoir lake with overflow systems designed for in-stream return back to the Rogue River. This water system improves the efficiency of hydro power production, range land conservancy programs, water storage, water filtration, storm run offs from seasonal creeks.
The entire water system is a spectacular intricate water design delivery system of water distribution, water usage, water conservation and water efficiency while optimizing the Rogue River ecosystem with improved efficiency in a wetland mitigation pro- gram. All the dedi- cated water distribution circuits for agriculture, green homes, farmland, gardens, greenhouses, orchards, aquaponics, energy production, water recycling, in-stream returns to the Rogue River are all designed into a comprehensive integrated engineering water delivery system using the highest standards that exceeds the regulatory compliance of all federal and state regulatory agencies.
An important part of the RREVDR integrative engineering design in the water harvesting and delivery systems is the creative use of combining a beautiful, natural looking canal system similar to ancient indigenous water harvesting systems that still retains the wildlife and scenic pan- oramic views with state-of-the-art technology that disguises or has hidden equipment. All control valves and control gates, sensors, bypass switching, returns, electrical conduits, solar pumps, pump stations and turbines are all architecturally disguised or hidden from view. The canal system operates on a state-of-the-art Control Station that directs and controls water volume, loads and pressure from the diverter channel coming off the Rogue River and the reservoir lake intake with gravity fed circuits involved in hydroelectric power generation.
The systems move overflow water during the rain and storm run-off, move water into storage areas and into delivery circuit systems and also returns excess water back into the Rogue River. All aspects of water efficiency, water usage and water consevation are used. Borrowing from ancient water harvesting and delivery systems, the RREVDR is creating a water harvesting anb water delivery system model for future green developers and sustainability design planners to study and collaborate worldwide.
Ancient Water Harvesting Technologies
RREVDR Water Harvesting System borrows from ancient water harvesting technology and uses new green permaculture technology. This is a natural evolution and solution to develop new water delivery systems in the new emerging paradigm of off-the-grid ecovillages. Examining the creativity, innovation and visionary insights in the prehistoric water harvesting technologies that the indigenous green communities created in the Byzantine and Mesopotamian eras, we have learned many things. The sophistication and capacity of the engineering concepts of these ancient indigenous systems is astounding. The ancient indigenous designed sophisticated irrigation networks that had transformed arid desert valleys into fertile agricultural communities and rich riparian areas, bringing life-giving water to tens of thousands of people. Their water systems also enhanced the ecosystems and biodiversity. Some of the canal systems were capable of irrigating more than 10,000 acres of land enabling large populations of 20,000 – 50,000 people living in harmonious village networks. The water design system was very sacred to the people as they formed their ecovillages around their ingenious ancient water systems. We begin to realize that our roots tied to the collective past, present and future flow through these canals.
Mesopotamia Water System Innovations
Some of the water harvesting techniques created platform mounds every three miles along the major intersecting irrigation canals. The mound villages served as management stations where village elders made regional decisions regarding many aspects of food production, trading, canal construction, maintenance and water allocation to smaller villages along the system. The entire foundation of village survival relied on the water canal systems. These water distribution systems were beautiful, sacred and fostered the very origins of today's permaculture ethics, permaculture principles and 7 domains of permaculture action.
The the evolution of early Mesopotamian civilization was dependent and thrived on its water system innovations where irrigation was very important for the expansion of Mesopotamia. Their systems controlled water by dams and the sophisticated use of aqueduct and canals. Aqueducts contained water running from higher places allowing the flow to run straight downhill, and partly they force it up, running backwards by means of a screw through mechanical pressure forcing it round and round the spirals of the machines. Being discharged into close-packed, large cisterns they would irrigate the whole garden, inebriating the roots of the plants to their depths and maintaining the wet land as an evergreen meadow. The tree leaves can feed on the dew and have a wind-swept appearance. The roots can sprout anew benefit- ing from the moisture of the water that runs past interweaving along the lower ground to the collecting point protecting the growing of trees.
Mesopotamia Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World described as a remarkable feat of engineering in an ascending series of tiered gardens containing all manner of trees, shrubs, and vines. The gardens were said to have looked like a large green mountain constructed of mud bricks. The construc- tion includes excavation of a vast system of a series of canals, dams, aqueducts used to carry water with water-raising screws that raise water to upper levels of the gardens. King Ashurnasir- pal II (883–859 BC) describes, "I dug out a canal from the river cutting through a mountain peak and called it the Abundance Ca- nal. I watered the meadows of the Tigris, planted orchards with all kinds of fruit trees....I planted seeds, plants, pines, cypresses, junipers, almonds, dates, ebony, rosewood, olive, oak, tamarisk, walnut, terebinth, ash, fir, pomegranate, pear, quince, fig, grape- vine...the canal water gushes from above into the garden as fra- grance pervades the walkways....there are streams of water as numerous as the stars of heaven flow in the paradise pleasure garden....like a squirrel, I pick fruit in this garden of delights."
The RREVDR Water System adopts techniques the ancient Mayans used in their sustainable water delivery system. The Mayans created a unique using a series of canals and sluices and paved reservoirs that held rainwater. They used their land and water resources in a sustainable manner to transform the rock quarries from where they pulled stones to construct their temples and homes into reservoirs. They then excavated out natural gulches and paved them to prevent the ground from absorbing precious rainwater. Their ancient plumb- ing system enabled sustainable water harvesting and delivery through times of abundance and drought. The Mayans also created their own filtration systems, forcing their rainwater runoff through boxes of sand.
Water Supply for Hydro-Electric System
Hydro Electric system starts with an all natural looking rock bank water channel coming off the Rogue River that supplies all municipal, domestic and irrigation water that goes through a series of diversion water circuits interfaced with collection ponds and a reservoir lake system designed for Hydro-Electric power.
The RREVDR Hydro Electric design system follows the scenic and wildlife regulatory compliance where everything looks natural and scenic. There is no visible industrial or commercial hydro-electric equipment. Turbines, penwheels., generators, pump stations, solar pumps, piping, water gates, control valves, sensors, electrical conduits are either hidden or disguised creating an all natural look- ing wildlife and scenic environment creating a beautiful natural looking water distribution system.
