In an effort to modernize and streamline how state officials allocate what’s left of Oregon’s ground and surface waters, lawmakers are considering a slate of bills meant to get resource agencies collaborating on permitting reform, data collection and “management” rather than “regulation.”

That’s according to primary water bill sponsors, state Reps. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, and Mark Owens, R-Crane, the chair and vice chair of the House Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water Committee. The two are sponsoring six of at least nine bills being considered in the final month of the 2025 legislative session.

“We’re moving from a bias toward regulation to a bias toward management. All this stuff is moving in that direction,” Helm said of state water policy.

The two have been working on

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