West Langell Valley won’t get irrigation water from Clear Lake 

By JILL AHO 

H&N Staff Writer

May 4, 2010

   The shutoff also impacts the amount of water available to farmers and ranchers in the Horsefly Irrigation District.

   The Klamath Basin will receive an additional $2 million in local drought relief funds for land idling and groundwater programs. It received $5.25 million earlier for irrigators served by Upper Klamath Lake.       

   Of the additional $2 million, $500,000 is specifically for irrigators served by Gerber Reservoir and Clear Lake, Klamath Water and Power Agency officials said.

   KWAPA Executive Director Hollie Canon said how the money would be used is up to irrigation districts serving the area.

   “It is limited to land idling and supplemental groundwater,” he said. “They will decide how it is split between Horsefly and Langell Valley and also how it’s split between land idling and supplemental groundwater.”

   Irrigators connected to Gerber Reservoir, which provides water to the eastern half of Langell Valley, will receive about 75 percent of their average water deliveries. But those in the western half of the valley, whose deliveries were curtailed July 7 last year, have been told they should expect nothing.  

   “In the 20 years I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen our drain ditches dry,” said Cindy Camozzi, whose 240-acre property in the western half of the valley is mostly pasture. A neighbor rents the land to graze livestock. “We got shut off early last year. That means our groundwater is dropping. I’m afraid the well at the house is going to go dry.”

   Jim Camozzi recommissioned a restored windmill to draw water from a well that ensures livestock on their pasture have something to drink. But this year, if the wind stops blowing for a few days, the Camozzis worry they won’t be able to provide water for the cattle.

   “We’ve got to have water for them,” Cindy Camozzi said.  

   Backup pump

   The couple bought an electric pump to use if wind power isn’t enough. They hope that a Farm Service Agency program meant to assist livestock producers during drought will help pay for the purchase.

BOR photo   An aerial view of Clear Lake Dam and Reservoir.

   No water from Clear Lake also hurts farmers and ranchers served by the Horsefly Irrigation District, said Don Russell. The district’s water supplies are normally supplemented by Clear Lake, and the district is expecting to have 4,400 less acre-feet of water than normal.

   Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Kevin Moore said the Langell Valley Irrigation District has made suggestions that may make water deliveries from Clear Lake more reliable.

   “Any changes to current facilities must be examined closely to ensure they do not harm endangered species and comply with all other laws and regulations,” Moore said. “Also, according to contract, changes to facilities to improve irrigation are paid for by the irrigation district.”

   Langell Valley Irrigation District Manager Frank Hammerich did not return phone calls made Monday morning and afternoon.  

   • • •

   Disaster designation

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated Klamath County as a primary natural disaster area due to ongoing drought conditions.

   The declaration makes available drought assistance to farmers and ranchers in Klamath, Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Lake and Lane counties in Oregon as well as Modoc and Siskiyou counties in California, according to a press release.

   The designation makes all qualified farm operators in designated and contiguous areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans from the USDA Farm Service Agency. Farmers have eight months from the date of declaration to apply for loans to help cover their actual losses.

   Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., asked the USDA for the drought declaration. He said in a statement Monday that the USDA did the right thing. He said he has seen firsthand the devastating effects that the water shutoff in 2001 had on Klamath Basin communities.

   “We must work to get water certainty for the Basin that is predictable regardless of the water year,” Walden said. “Meanwhile, we must continue to provide the emergency support that our farmers and ranchers need.”  

   Clear Lake created to reclaim marshlands:

   Clear Lake was formed by the construction of the Clear Lake Dam on the Lost River in California. The reservoir is used to provide irrigation water to the western half of Langell Valley and provides a portion of the water delivered to the Horsefly Irrigation District.

   The dam was completed in 1910, and its original purpose was to reduce the amount of water in Tule Lake, making it possible to reclaim more marshlands for farming. The dam was replaced in 2002, according to the Bureau of Reclamation website.

   Because its original purpose was to reduce the amount of water in what is now the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, the water body created by the dam has a large surface area.

   Evaporation rates at Clear Lake make it an inefficient storage reservoir. The lake’s maximum depth is about 20 feet, and while the lake has the capacity to store 527,000 acre-feet of water, as of Monday, there were 69,810 acre-feet of water in the lake.

   When two species of sucker were listed on the Endangered Species List, the Bureau had to change the way it operates Clear Lake to comply with legally mandated elevations, said Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Kevin Moore.

   “Every effort is made to provide releases when available and comply   with federal regulations,” he said. “Drought conditions like we are currently experiencing further complicate an already difficult challenge.”

   • • •

   Endangered fish species living in Clear Lake:

   Endangered species of sucker live in Clear Lake and spawn in Willow Creek, the only available spawning habitat connected to the lake.

   A U.S. Fish and Wildlife biological opinion dictates the minimum lake elevations that Lost River and shortnose suckers need to survive.

   The opinions lay out a plan for reducing the amount of water in Klamath Project reservoirs throughout the irrigation season without harming fish populations.

   This year, the lake is already losing water, no irrigation deliveries have been made and none are expected.

   The lake’s elevation, 4,522.77 feet above sea level on Monday, was below its elevation of a month earlier, despite wet April weather. The 0.10-foot difference represents a loss of more than 1,500 acre-feet of water.

   The Fish and Wildlife Service biological opinion says in a “critically dry” year, the lake’s elevation should be no less than 4,524.6 feet at the end of April. By the end of September, the elevation has to be above 4,520.6 feet.  

   Area is part of national wildlife refuge complex:

   In addition to serving as a water storage reservoir, the Clear Lake area in Northern California is part of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges complex.

   The Clear Lake refuge houses the western-most population of sage grouse, a small ground-dwelling bird that is a candidate for the Endangered Species List.

   It is also home to one of two known breeding populations of white pelican in California, said wildlife biologist John Beckstrand.

   “There’re only two colonies in California,” Beckstrand said.

   Fish and Wildlife projects in the refuge include removing junipers to reduce predation. Tall trees provide perches for eagles and other predatory birds while leaving the sage grouse vulnerable, said Greg Austin, deputy project leader for the refuges.

   “I think we’ve gotten rid of most of the junipers on Clear Lake right now, and now we’ve got some money to work on private lands,” he said. “What we know of the sage grouse requirements is the place you find the biggest concentrations of sage grouse are fairly dense sage brush habitat with no trees around for predators to use.”

   Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge is closed to the public to protect natural and cultural resources.