The ripple effects are beginning to show.

   Decisions by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to trim allocations of irrigation water will affect more than the 1,000-plus farmers and ranchers that depend on water from the Klamath Irrigation Project.

   Tom and Jenise Bocchi depend on irrigation provided through the Enterprise Irrigation District to provide small amounts of water to raise corn for their Old Fort Amaizen Corn Maze. Because Enterprise won’t be receiving any water to allocate, the Bocchis won’t be able to operate the corn maze.

   Food bank affected

   And because there won’t be a corn maze, the Klamath-Lake Counties Food Bank won’t receive the two tons of food and $1,000 the Bocchis donated last year.

   The Bocchis also won’t be buying corn seed, won’t be buying fuel for tractors and vehicles, won’t be buying advertising to promote the event, won’t be buying snacks to be sold at the maze and, more importantly, they said, they won’t be providing a recreational opportunity for families and youth.

   “It’s a trickle down through the entire community,” Tom Bocchi said. “I’m just a little guy.”

   Started in 2007

   The Bocchis started the Old Fort Amaizen Corn Maze on Old Fort Road near Klamath Falls in 2007.

   Tom Bocchi said the maze attracted nearly 10,000 people last year from mid-September through Halloween. Interest has grown each year, with group tours, birthday parties and, last year, a Halloween Haunted Corn Maze.

   “I do it for the young people. I don’t do it for the money,” Tom Bocchi said. “I do it for the young people because I grew up here and I know there’s not a lot to do.”

   Still paying the bill

   Even though Enterprise Irrigation District, which has a low water priority, won’t receive any water because of the water shortage, Bocchi said, he’s being charged his annual $4,000 for operating and maintaining district canals.

   He said the water used to grow the corn, which other years had been planted by now, isn’t much.

   In past years, the five-acre site was watered once a week for about 24 hours from June through August. The property has no other water source.

   Bocchi believes the water shortage will impact Klamath Basin residents in ways they can’t anticipate.

   “The trickle effect is tens of thousands of dollars taken out of the community,” Bocchi said. “What’s the answer? The answer is it’s affecting all of us.”