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County
requests disaster support
Klamath County
commissioners are asking the state to declare the
county a disaster area because Upper Klamath Lake is
below minimum levels needed for farmers to begin
irrigation operations by April 1.
The board voted Tuesday to
send a letter to Gov. Ted Kulongoski asking for the
designation. A spokeswoman from Kulongoski’s office
said his office received the letter that day and was
reviewing it.
Commissioners said if the
governor declares a disaster, it would provide funds
to be loaned to those impacted by the irrigation
delay, as well as potentially allow irrigators to
use groundwater supplies that are typically
off-limits.
“We’d be better off, quite
frankly, if it kept snowing,” Commissioner Al
Switzer said.
The U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation announced Monday that the lake level is
a foot below the minimum needed to protect
endangered suckers and that inflows to the lake are
71 percent of average.
As a result, water
deliveries to irrigation districts could be delayed
until mid-April, with actual irrigation not
beginning until late April. The Klamath and Tulelake
irrigation districts were expected to start filling
their canals on April 1.
Jillian Schoene,
Kulongoski’s spokeswoman, said the governor’s office
is coordinating with the Oregon Water Resources
Department regarding the commissioners’ request, and
more information would be available later in the
week.
It is not the first time
the county has asked for a disaster declaration. The
county has asked for the designation when water
supplies were short in past years.
More recently, a request
was made to the governor’s office regarding the area
of Klamath and Lake counties being devastated by
beetle infestation. Commissioners wanted financial
aid to clean up the area before it succumbed to
wildfire. The declaration was never granted.
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