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Snow level worrisome
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| H&N file photo The current Upper Klamath Lake elevation level is about 4,139 feet. The Dec. 31 target is 4,140.8 while the Jan. 31 target is 4,141.7. |
Water year precipitation at 82 percent of average in Basin
By LEE JUILLERAT
H&N Regional Editor
Klamath Basin irrigators who
rely on deep winter snow packs and a
well-filled Upper Klamath Lake are getting
anxious.
“We’ve been monitoring it all winter,” said Dave Solem, Klamath Irrigation District manager. “Our concern is the that the time left for conditions to get better is getting short.”
Earl Danowsky, manager of the Tulelake Irrigation District, is taking a wait-and-see attitude.
“It’s just too early,” Danowsky said. “There’s a lot of winter left.”
While California has been clobbered by winter storms in recent days, the precipitation on Oregon’s side of the state line has been sparse.
At Crater Lake National Park, for example, the on-ground snow total Wednesday morning was 58 inches, about 68 percent of the average 85 inches normally measured this time of year.
The accumulated precipitation for the water year, which began Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, is just over 27 inches, or about 82 percent of the average 33 inches.
“It is premature to make any predictions at this early stage,” said Kevin Moore, spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Basin area office. “However, if current trends continue, (Klamath Irrigation) Project operations will be extremely challenging this season. The current rain may seem helpful, but it is reducing the snow pack we have while providing very little change in the lake levels.”
Solem said levels at Upper Klamath Lake only increased slightly since October, renewing concerns about the availability of water to irrigators this spring. Although reliable information isn’t expected until February, Solem said the trends aren’t good.
“We are at a low, low lake level for this time of year,” he said. “The snow pack isn’t good and lake levels are low. The combination of those two things makes for tough times.”
Current lake level
The current lake elevation level is about 4,139 feet. The Dec. 31 target is 4,140.8 while the Jan. 31 target is 4,141.7. On Jan. 14, the snow-water equivalent for the current water year was 71 percent of average, compared with 98 percent in the 2009 water year.
Solem said his office has been in contact with the Bureau of Reclamation, which has been in contact with fisheries officials.
“All you can do is talk with those folks and make them aware so we can sit down at some point and see where we are,” he said. “We’ve seen this pattern before but we’ve also seen it change.”
Moore also wants to be optimistic.
“The weather in the Klamath Basin is constantly changing and current forecasts may be wrong,” he said. “There is still time for snow and a very wet spring could change conditions for the better.”
Moore said Reclamation is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and Klamath Irrigation customers to create plans to address different scenarios.
‘Water year’ defined
The term “water year” refers to the hydrological water year that begins Oct. 1. The date was chosen because it is the end of summer and the beginning of a period when precipitation typically begins for the fall and winter season.
Based on statistics on inflow at Upper Klamath Lake from the National Marine Fisheries Service biological opinion, a wet year happened in 1999; above average years were recorded in 1993, 1996 and 1998; average years in 1995 and 1997; below average years in 1990; and dry years in 1991, 1992 and 1994.
“We’ve been monitoring it all winter,” said Dave Solem, Klamath Irrigation District manager. “Our concern is the that the time left for conditions to get better is getting short.”
Earl Danowsky, manager of the Tulelake Irrigation District, is taking a wait-and-see attitude.
“It’s just too early,” Danowsky said. “There’s a lot of winter left.”
While California has been clobbered by winter storms in recent days, the precipitation on Oregon’s side of the state line has been sparse.
At Crater Lake National Park, for example, the on-ground snow total Wednesday morning was 58 inches, about 68 percent of the average 85 inches normally measured this time of year.
The accumulated precipitation for the water year, which began Oct. 1 and runs through Sept. 30, is just over 27 inches, or about 82 percent of the average 33 inches.
“It is premature to make any predictions at this early stage,” said Kevin Moore, spokesman for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Klamath Basin area office. “However, if current trends continue, (Klamath Irrigation) Project operations will be extremely challenging this season. The current rain may seem helpful, but it is reducing the snow pack we have while providing very little change in the lake levels.”
Solem said levels at Upper Klamath Lake only increased slightly since October, renewing concerns about the availability of water to irrigators this spring. Although reliable information isn’t expected until February, Solem said the trends aren’t good.
“We are at a low, low lake level for this time of year,” he said. “The snow pack isn’t good and lake levels are low. The combination of those two things makes for tough times.”
Current lake level
The current lake elevation level is about 4,139 feet. The Dec. 31 target is 4,140.8 while the Jan. 31 target is 4,141.7. On Jan. 14, the snow-water equivalent for the current water year was 71 percent of average, compared with 98 percent in the 2009 water year.
Solem said his office has been in contact with the Bureau of Reclamation, which has been in contact with fisheries officials.
“All you can do is talk with those folks and make them aware so we can sit down at some point and see where we are,” he said. “We’ve seen this pattern before but we’ve also seen it change.”
Moore also wants to be optimistic.
“The weather in the Klamath Basin is constantly changing and current forecasts may be wrong,” he said. “There is still time for snow and a very wet spring could change conditions for the better.”
Moore said Reclamation is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service and Klamath Irrigation customers to create plans to address different scenarios.
‘Water year’ defined
The term “water year” refers to the hydrological water year that begins Oct. 1. The date was chosen because it is the end of summer and the beginning of a period when precipitation typically begins for the fall and winter season.
Based on statistics on inflow at Upper Klamath Lake from the National Marine Fisheries Service biological opinion, a wet year happened in 1999; above average years were recorded in 1993, 1996 and 1998; average years in 1995 and 1997; below average years in 1990; and dry years in 1991, 1992 and 1994.
Water updates available on Bureau of Reclamation Web site
Water readings below average in all areas of the Basin
For updates on water
conditions, go to the
Bureau of Reclamation Web
site.
As of Wednesday, water readings in all areas in the Klamath Basin were below average, rating 70 percent of average for the entire Basin, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The lowest readings, 60 and 61 percent of average, were reported at Sevenmile Marsh, Fourmile Lake, Billie Creek Divide and Taylor Butte. Gerber Reservoir had a 64 percent reading. The highest readings were 85 percent on Summer Rim and 81 percent at Crowder Flat and Strawberry.
As of Wednesday, water readings in all areas in the Klamath Basin were below average, rating 70 percent of average for the entire Basin, according to data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The lowest readings, 60 and 61 percent of average, were reported at Sevenmile Marsh, Fourmile Lake, Billie Creek Divide and Taylor Butte. Gerber Reservoir had a 64 percent reading. The highest readings were 85 percent on Summer Rim and 81 percent at Crowder Flat and Strawberry.
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