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Bureau manager a key official in water struggle
Legal issues, settlement proposal make it complex
Federal
agencies in the Klamath Basin
are deeply involved in the
annual struggle to allocate
water and that’s a good reason
to be keenly interested in who
the Bureau of Reclamation’s top
official is for the Basin.
The Bureau named Susan Fry last week to become the area manager.
Her predecessor, Pablo Arroyave, left last summer after only two years on what is one of the nation’s most complex water systems.
It’s not just the complicated way water is shunted around the 240,000-acre Klamath Reclamation Project and wildlife refuges that makes it so. Klamath Basin water allocations come with a host of legal issues, including treaty rights and endangered species laws. It’s also the subject of an effort to bring major stakeholders into accord on a Basin-wide settlement of water issues that includes the possibility of removing four dams on the Klamath River.
There are
other issues, too, so we hope
Fry is a quick study.
For the past two years she has been environmental officer for the Bureau’s Mid-Pacific Region, which includes the Klamath Basin, and has held various positions with government agencies.
The Bureau of Reclamation annually becomes a focal point in the Basin for irrigators, fishermen, tribes and federal agencies involved in trying to decide who gets how much water. Sometimes things get nasty, which is something the proposed settlement is aimed at eliminating.
The Bureau should lend its full support to reaching an overall settlement.
Fry should also prod studies of Long Lake’s feasibility for deep water storage. The “lake” is a normally dry lake bed west of Klamath Falls.
Even an average water year isn’t good enough any more to meet all of the demands on the Klamath River system. More storage for water from wet years would help.
Long Lake presents a deep, narrow configuration, which would greatly reduce the potential loss of water to evaporation compared to that from wide, shallow lakes such as Upper Klamath Lake, the main reservoir for the Klamath Reclamation Project.
The Bureau of Reclamation has been studying Long Lake’s feasibility for several years and even if everything looks good, actual construction would not take place for several more years. It’s a long process and we hope Fry keeps it moving.
We also want to welcome Fry to the Basin. Let’s hope it’s a good match.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
The Bureau named Susan Fry last week to become the area manager.
Her predecessor, Pablo Arroyave, left last summer after only two years on what is one of the nation’s most complex water systems.
It’s not just the complicated way water is shunted around the 240,000-acre Klamath Reclamation Project and wildlife refuges that makes it so. Klamath Basin water allocations come with a host of legal issues, including treaty rights and endangered species laws. It’s also the subject of an effort to bring major stakeholders into accord on a Basin-wide settlement of water issues that includes the possibility of removing four dams on the Klamath River.
For the past two years she has been environmental officer for the Bureau’s Mid-Pacific Region, which includes the Klamath Basin, and has held various positions with government agencies.
The Bureau of Reclamation annually becomes a focal point in the Basin for irrigators, fishermen, tribes and federal agencies involved in trying to decide who gets how much water. Sometimes things get nasty, which is something the proposed settlement is aimed at eliminating.
The Bureau should lend its full support to reaching an overall settlement.
Fry should also prod studies of Long Lake’s feasibility for deep water storage. The “lake” is a normally dry lake bed west of Klamath Falls.
Even an average water year isn’t good enough any more to meet all of the demands on the Klamath River system. More storage for water from wet years would help.
Long Lake presents a deep, narrow configuration, which would greatly reduce the potential loss of water to evaporation compared to that from wide, shallow lakes such as Upper Klamath Lake, the main reservoir for the Klamath Reclamation Project.
The Bureau of Reclamation has been studying Long Lake’s feasibility for several years and even if everything looks good, actual construction would not take place for several more years. It’s a long process and we hope Fry keeps it moving.
We also want to welcome Fry to the Basin. Let’s hope it’s a good match.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted
material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml