A project designed to bring drinking water to the city of Bend, Oregon by installing a diversion pipe feeding from Bridge Creek has been the subject of lawsuits from both Central Oregon LandWatch and WaterWatch. The environmental organizations argue that there was no investigation into how the project would affect the overall water system of the area. Both organizations are concerned that water levels in the creek will drop to dangerously low levels, affecting other tributaries it feeds. The lawsuits have delayed the $24 million project for nearly two years

In late 2014, WaterWatch lost its half of the lawsuit, with a District Judge ruling that the U.S. Forest Service had followed the law when they evaluated the project’s environmental impact. The LandWatch lawsuit was allowed to continue, but in March 2015 LandWatch reached out to the Bend City Council with an offer to settle the dispute through mediation instead of litigation. There had been one round of previous settlement attempts that ended in failure, but the city agreed to try again.

“Settlement is good for the community,” said City Attorney Mary Winters.

The decision to give mediation a chance does not hurt the city’s chances in a lawsuit, as the suit is still on the court’s calendar. If mediation fails to bring about a settlement, the case proceeds in court without delay. The mediation process will be confidential but both sides have promised to make any settlement a matter of public record.