‘Good break' helps deal with a bad one

July 4, 2006

Klamath Falls Herald and News Editorial

Local irrigators won't be penalized for the break in the dike along Upper Klamath Lake northwest of Klamath Falls. Nor will two species of fish listed for special protections of the Endangered Species Act feel a significant impact, either.

That's good news. The wet year was a good break, but there's still going to be a price to pay beyond that to the owners and users of the land flooded.

The Bureau of Reclamation will have to make more and costlier use of the water bank than expected. The above-average precipitation would have made this a good year to let the aquifers recharge - which was the Bureau's original plan. Through the water bank, the Bureau pays irrigators to pump well water into the irrigation system.

In addition to the dike break, there has been less inflow into Upper Klamath than expected, something that may be an effect of several dry years. That suggests that it takes more than one good water year to make up for a series of bad ones.

Meanwhile, the future of the 2,000-acre flooded area has yet to be decided.

It's hard to see how the question could not go to litigation, with the number of people involved - land owners and users, including not just those of the agricultural lands, but the Running Y Ranch resort. The Running Y had three holes of its golf course under water before building dikes and pumping the water out. It's likely to be a long time before the holes can be used.

PacifiCorp is nominally in charge of the dikes, but a spokesman said that “reasonable people” could interpret PacifiCorp's responsibilities in different ways.

There appears to be some interest in turning the flooded agricultural area into a permanent wetlands, though nothing is certain yet.

At least, though, there was enough water to cover this year's needs. It did require some give on the part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its cooperation in the extraordinary circumstances was welcome.