Water storage appraisal nearly done

      Susan Fry, Klamath Basin area manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, expects to provide the first appraisal of a water storage project at Long Lake to regional officials in August.

   Fry said her office has nearly finished the appraisal, the first step on the way to asking Congress to fund the project.

   Long Lake, a valley southwest of the southern end of Upper Klamath Lake, has been considered a potential water storage site for decades, but only in the last few years have federal officials begun to seriously investigate it.  

   Proponents have said that properly constructed, the Long Lake valley could hold as much water Upper Klamath Lake with a fraction of the surface area, reducing water loss from evaporation. Stored water could be used to supplement supplies in dry water years.