Water authorities have clamped down on farmers and ranchers in the Shasta River and Klamath River watersheds after they defied orders to reduce water usage.
For the Shasta River watershed, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) issued a draft cease-and-desist order to the Shasta River Water Association (SRWA), informing the group they needed to stop diverting water.
The Klamath Irrigation District in southern Oregon reversed its earlier decision to continue diverting water after the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) threatened to withhold money for drought assistance.
Shasta River
SRWA—a tax-exempt irrigation group based in Grenada, CA, that represents about 80 ranchers in central Siskiyou County—began diverting up to 30 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Aug. 17, dropping Shasta River flows to approximately 18 cfs, 32 cfs below the minimum flow requirement of 50 cfs, according to SWRCB.
On Aug. 17, SRWA sent a letter to the water board, stating due to weather conditions, they are diverting water for irrigation, livestock watering, watering trees and fire suppression. SRWA noted that exemptions to diverting water are permitted after submission of the forms and receiving approval. According to SWRCB, the group began diverting water in violation of the curtailment order.
The next day, inspectors from SWRCB spoke with three members of the board of directors for SRWA, who stated they turned on their diversion the previous night. They estimated they were diverting 30 cfs and would try to keep water flows in the Shasta River between 20-25 cfs—less than half of the minimum flow requirement for the river.
Jim Scala, a third-generation rancher and president of SRWA, told CalMatters he grew frustrated with seeing a pond where his cattle used to drink dry up. Scala and other ranchers decided, “To hell with it; we’re starting the pumps.”
SWRCB issued a notice of violation to SRWA, notifying the agency to stop diverting water immediately, or they would be subject to a potential fine of up to $500 per day per water right for each day a violation occurs.
Flow measurements taken by the U.S. Geological Survey in Yreka, CA, on Aug. 24 showed a return to normal flows.
“We accomplished what we set out to do,” Rick Lemos, a fifth-generation rancher and SRWA board member, told Cal Matters. “We got relief for the cattle that were out of water and wading out in the mud and getting stuck.”
The diversion drew the ire of Klamath Tribes and state water regulators, who experienced a setback weeks earlier when a flash flood sent mud and debris from the McKinney Fire into the Klamath River, killing thousands of fish. The Shasta River is a tributary of the Klamath River and harbors the Chinook salmon, in addition to the coho salmon, which is federally listed under the Endangered Species Act,
“What we’re doing here will be a barometer for the rest of the state,” Craig Tucker, natural resources policy advocate for the Karuk Tribe, told The Associated Press. “If the state can’t enforce its own regulations when it comes to river flows, California fisheries don’t stand a chance.”
SRWA has 20 days to request a hearing, or the order becomes final and could subject the organization to fines of up to $10,000 daily, according to SWRCB.
Klamath River
The Klamath Irrigation District initially said on Aug. 23 that it would defy an order from BOR calling for farmers to halt water diversions from the Klamath Project.
The Klamath Project is managed by BOR and includes the Klamath Irrigation District, which services approximately 170,000 acres of farmland along the Oregon-California border.
On Aug. 19, BOR stated Upper Klamath Lake was out of water and ordered a halt to diversions to save endangered salmon and suckerfish. Water levels are maintained in Upper Klamath Lake to protect several species of endangered suckerfish. Water is also released from the lake to flow downriver to preserve the habitat for endangered coho salmon.
The irrigation board met on Aug. 22 and authorized continued operations, asserting BOR did not provide a legal justification for shutting down the water.
Gene Souza, executive director of the Klamath Irrigation District, told Oregon Public Broadcasting’s show, “Think Out Loud,” he doesn’t believe that an allocation of water is within legal documents and that water in Upper Klamath Lake went through the adjudication process, with some water belonging to irrigators and some to Tribes, with a balance for wildlife.
Souza stated the interim operations plan BOR has been using for the last couple of years had been a “colossal failure,” and the agency has been allocating more water to the ocean than what had been available to the area. Souza said BOR continually changed the lake elevation levels needed as a buffer for spawning suckerfish.
Souza said the irrigation district agreed to maintain the buffer through conservation and by making farmers wait 45 days before delivering water. The district maintained lake levels through most of the summer until BOR stated they were no longer operating under lake levels. Souza asserted BOR was “moving the goal post from left to right” after the decision.
Souza called the move unfair to farmers, but the irrigation district quickly reversed course after BOR threatened to withhold $20 million for drought relief for not only the Klamath Irrigation District, but all irrigation districts served by the district.
Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley (D) and Ron Wyden (D) announced funding for the first restoration projects in the Klamath Basin as part of $162 million in funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“The Klamath Basin has fought to survive back-to-back summers of the worst drought in memory,” Merkley said in a statement. “From businesses and families to fish and wildlife, the impact of the drought throughout the basin is deep.”
Souza said, “Farmers that have a crop in the ground right now; they are not going to be able to get a majority of that crop to market.”
Souza hopes they can come to an agreement with BOR on an understanding to get to a different position than working under the interim operating agreement, which allocates water downstream “that has nothing to do with a threatened or endangered species.” — Charles Wallace, WLJ editor
