What North Unit Irrigation District does

North Unit Irrigation District (NUID) is a quasi-municipal special district founded in 1938 and headquartered in Madras, Oregon, that supplies irrigation water to nearly 59,000 acres of farmland in Jefferson County. The district operates under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and draws water from the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers via Wickiup Reservoir, channeling it through 65 miles of main canal and 235 miles of laterals. Core water-supply infrastructure includes the Lake Billy Chinook (LBC) Pumping Plant, district-wide chemical treatment programs using copper sulfate and aquatic herbicides, and a customer self-service portal with online bill payment integrated through Point and Pay.

NUID is currently executing a significant infrastructure modernization program, anchored by a $39 million pipeline installation project that replaces century-old open canals with pressurized pipelines to reduce water loss from leakage, percolation, and evaporation. The district has also initiated a $76,000 cloud seeding study to explore weather modification as a supplementary water-supply mechanism. These modernization efforts are partly driven by a binding 2028 Endangered Species Act agreement requiring piping projects to protect the threatened Oregon spotted frog; non-compliance would threaten continuation of district operations and Jefferson County farming.

The district is governed by a Board of Directors and functions as a public water-stewardship entity rather than a profit-driven business. Revenue is generated through water allotments and charges to agricultural landowners, although specific pricing is not publicly disclosed. Additional operational services include drought relief resources, canal safety programs, noxious weed management, equipment rental, and Oregon Spotted Frog habitat conservation under a Habitat Conservation Plan. NUID is pursuing over $700 million in public funding to support its broader infrastructure modernization pipeline.

Name

North Unit Irrigation District

Legal name

North Unit Irrigation District

Website

https://northunitid.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Irrigation Water Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623)

akta.pro primary industry

Pipes, Tubing & Conveyance Infrastructure (Mainlines, Laterals, Hoses) (AFAAACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Irrigation Design, Installation & Maintenance Services (Engineering, Retrofit, Repair) (AFAAACAL), Irrigation Operation, Maintenance & Repair (Pumps, Valves, Controllers) (AFACAFAD), Irrigation System Design & Engineering (AFACAFAA), Pump & Well Services for Irrigation (Well Testing, Pump Sizing, Rehab) (AFACAFAG), Monitoring, Metering & Flow Measurement (Meters, Pressure/Flow Gauges, Telemetry) (AFAAACAK)

Keywords

• Irrigation water delivery
• Agricultural water services
• Water district operations
• Canal infrastructure management
• Irrigation district services

Headquarters

HQ city

Madras

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

North Unit Irrigation District supplies irrigation water to nearly 59,000 acres of farmland in Jefferson County, Oregon, delivering water through 65 miles of main canal and 235 miles of laterals sourced from Wickiup Reservoir via the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers. The district operates as a quasi-municipality under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, providing water delivery, customer billing, infrastructure maintenance, and district governance services to agricultural water users.

Product overview

North Unit Irrigation District operates as a quasi-municipality under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, providing irrigation water distribution to approximately 59,000 acres of farmland in Jefferson County, Oregon. The district manages water from the Deschutes and Crooked Rivers delivered through 65 miles of main canal and 235 miles of laterals. Core offerings include irrigation water distribution, customer portal access, and online bill payment. The district is undertaking major infrastructure modernization through a $39 million pipeline installation to replace aging open canals with pressurized pipes, alongside a $76,000 cloud seeding study. Additional services encompass drought relief resources, canal safety, noxious weed management, Oregon Spotted Frog habitat conservation, and equipment rental.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Irrigation Water Delivery

Segments1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• U.S. Bureau of ReclamationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorth Unit Irrigation District is a quasi-municipality under contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, providing water management services and regulatory oversight for irrigation operations in the Deschutes River Basin

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Three Sisters Irrigation District: Central Oregon irrigation district serving farmland in Deschutes County with pressurized and open-channel delivery systems. Directly comparable service area and infrastructure profile.
• Ochoco Irrigation District: Central Oregon irrigation district delivering water to agricultural lands via gravity and pumped systems. Directly comparable in geography, customer base (high-desert farmers), and quasi-municipal governance model.
• Tumalo Irrigation District: Deschutes County irrigation district with pressurized pipeline delivery serving farmland near Bend. Comparable in size, modernization strategy (piping), and customer profile to NUID.
• Central Oregon Irrigation District: Adjacent Deschutes Basin irrigation district serving farmers in the same Jefferson/Deschutes County region with similar canal and lateral delivery infrastructure. Operates under an analogous quasi-municipal structure with Bureau of Reclamation oversight.
• Swalley Irrigation District: Deschutes Basin district operating canal/lateral infrastructure to agricultural users in central Oregon. Operates under the same Bureau of Reclamation regulatory framework as NUID.

Broad incumbents

• Imperial Irrigation District: One of the largest irrigation districts in the U.S., delivering water to roughly 500,000 acres in Southern California via the Colorado River. Comparable quasi-municipal utility model and Bureau of Reclamation entanglement, but vastly larger scale.
• South San Joaquin Irrigation District: California irrigation district serving approximately 72,000 acres with a mix of surface and groundwater delivery, including hydroelectric generation. Larger and more diversified but analogous ag-water utility model.

Others

• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: Federal contracting counterparty that grants NUID its quasi-municipal operating authority and water allocations. Not a peer in the competitive sense, but the single most important counterpart relationship and a key comparable for understanding the regulatory and funding ecosystem NUID operates within.

Regional players

• Maricopa-Stanfield Irrigation District: Arizona irrigation district delivering Colorado River water to farmland in Pinal County. Operates pressurized pipeline and surface systems under Bureau of Reclamation oversight; comparable modernization and water-rights dynamics but different geography.
• Roza Irrigation District: Yakima Basin irrigation district in Washington state delivering water to agricultural users through Bureau of Reclamation infrastructure. Comparable governance structure and modernization challenges, but in a different river basin.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North Unit Irrigation District