OAR 690-085-0008: Definitions

As used in OAR 690-085-0010 and 690-085-0015: (1) “Change in channel conditions” includes but is not limited to scour, siltation, accumulation of debris, accumulation of aquatic growth, and the removal of aquatic growth. (2) “Commission” means the Water Resources Commission. (3) “Control” means a natural constriction of the channel, a long reach of the channel, a stretch of rapids, or an artificial structure downstream from the gage that determines the stage-discharge relation at the gage. (4) “Continuous stage recorder” means any device that accurately and continuously records the rise and fall of a water surface with respect to time. (5) “Department” means the Oregon Water Resources Department. (6) “Director” means the Director of the Water Resources Department. (7) “Economic hardship” means a financial burden of an extraordinary nature. Examples of situations causing such a burden include, but are not limited to, the following: the entity is required to report on an unusually large number of diversions or locations, the costs of measuring and reporting for a diversion or location greatly exceed the normal costs associated with a similar volume of water, or the costs of measuring and reporting threaten the entity’s fiscal ability to continue operating. (8) “Flume” means a specially shaped open channel flow section which may be installed in a canal, lateral, or ditch to form a control. (9) “Governmental entity” includes any state or federal agency, local government as defined in ORS 294.004, irrigation district formed under ORS Chapter 545, water control district formed under ORS Chapter 553, and any other special purpose district organized under state law. (10) “Open channel flow measurement” means a series of velocity, depth, and width measurements taken across an open channel using a velocity meter and a calibrated tape measure as described in references listed in OAR 690-085-0015(4)(f). (11) “Point of diversion” means the point at which water is appropriated from its source. (12) “Shift” means a correction that is derived from a flow measurement and applied to the gage height to obtain a true flow or discharge throughout a specific time sequence. (13) “Staff gage” means a device constructed for the measurement of water depth. It shall allow accurate reading to 1/100th of a foot. (14) “Velocity meter” means a device designed and constructed to the specifications cited in the reference listed in OAR 690-085-0015(4)(f)(C) for measuring stream velocity in open channels. (15) “Water use” means water diverted or pumped from the source, or in the case of non-diverted water, the water available to satisfy the right. (16) “Weir” means an overflow structure built across an open channel to form a control.