Klamath Project water users in the Klamath Basin are being left high and dry this summer after the Bureau of Reclamation’s recent decision to close off the primary canal that irrigators utilize for agricultural land.
Officials cite low lake levels and potential harm to two endangered fish species as the reason for closing the A Canal, which diverts water from the Upper Klamath Lake to users in Klamath County, OR, and Siskiyou and Modoc counties in California. This is the first time the canal has been closed off since it was opened nearly 115 years ago in 1907.
The A Canal is the source of water for over 150,000 acres of farmland, according to the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA), which represents farmers and ranchers in the area. The only land in the 200,000-acre Klamath Project that will receive any water at all from the Klamath River system will be the Klamath Drainage District, which will be limited in its supply. The bureau will also be canceling plans for a surface flushing flow, which is done to mitigate disease in salmon in the lower Klamath River.
In a released statement, KWUA said although there is enough water in Upper Klamath Lake to supply all irrigation needs, Klamath Project management is driven by allocation to fish species protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The group said in past years with similar drought conditions, there have been full irrigation deliveries, but this year essentially all water will be retained in Upper Klamath Lake or released to California for salmon.
“Water users are extremely upset with what the federal government is doing to us, and with good reason,” KWUA President Ben DuVal said. “Taking water from Project irrigators for ESA species is a failed experiment that has produced no benefit for the species.”
“This just couldn’t be worse,” added Klamath Irrigation District President Ty Kliewer. “The impacts to our family farms and these rural communities will be off the scale.”
Kliewer also said about 375,000 acre-feet of water will be released to provide flows in the Klamath River, most of which is water that was stored in the lake under an irrigation right.
“The flow in the Klamath River will be wildly more than would have occurred in nature or without the Klamath Project’s storage that was developed for irrigation,” he said. “Irrigators pay for this system but it is being operated for completely different purposes.”
Endangered fish
The two fish of note are the Lost River suckers and shortnose suckers in Upper Klamath Lake. The fish are spiritually regarded by the Klamath Tribes and considered essential to their culture and survival. In response to Reclamation’s announcement, the Tribes said they felt for Klamath Project irrigators and that “Our people have far too much experience with being cut off from our means of subsistence, and we wish that pain on no one.”
However, the Tribes said they felt the bureau made the “only decision reasonably available to it.”
“The fact that neither Project irrigators, nor C’waam [Lost River suckers] and Koptu [shortnose suckers], nor salmon in the Klamath River will have access to sufficient water to satisfy their needs this year underscores how desperately the Klamath Basin needs to adapt to a more sustainable future,” the Tribes said.
The Tribes also called out drought relief efforts. “Relief payments to irrigators, including tribal members who farm and ranch, and to compensate for impacts to fishing opportunities are one thing,” said Tribal Council Treasurer Brandi Hatcher.
“But anything that incentivizes further groundwater pumping to make up for the lack of surface supplies this year will only make conditions in the basin worse. The lower the water table is depleted, the more water we will lose in the future that otherwise might have accreted to surface sources.”
Shortly after Reclamation’s decision was announced, KWUA released a notice urging supporters of agriculture to “stop intimidating and inappropriate behaviors immediately.” The group said names and addresses of bureau employees had been published on social media, in addition to other “inappropriate communications.”
“Reclamation is the messenger for bad news, but rarely the cause of that bad news,” said KWUA Executive Director Paul Simmons. “Blaming them for our problems reflects a lack of understanding, and will get no more results than blaming President [Richard] Nixon for signing the ESA.”
KWUA also said there are rumors of people being recruited across the country to participate in demonstrations, and that there is concern action this summer could damage irrigators’ cause.
“Help us get the facts out, but when it comes to people, stay focused on your family and neighbors,” said DuVal.
The Bureau of Reclamation has committed $15 million in aid to project water users through the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency and an additional $3 million in technical assistance will be offered to Tribes in the Klamath Basin.
The bureau said these funds are in addition to funding provided by Reclamation and other Department of the Interior bureaus. Drought relief funds are expected to be distributed starting in June. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
