Water storage still needed, even if it won’t be at Long Lake 

Proposed project doesn’t justify its large cost

Klamath Falls Herald and News Editorial

December 1, 2010

   On Monday, the Bureau of Reclamation said studies of the usually dry basin west of Upper Klamath Lake didn’t justify an expense of $550 million to $2.3 billion. The cost estimate was dependent on the amount of storage expected. The Basin floor would have to be sealed and a dike built.

   According to water and weather records, and the need to meet legally required Klamath River flows for protected salmon species in the lower river, it appears likely water could have been pumped into Long Lake only once every seven to 10 years.

   There isn’t enough payback for a plan so big and costly.

   It’s time to move on, even though Long Lake has been a part of the local water struggle for so long we don’t doubt some people still want it considered.

   We don’t.  

   What to consider

   What should get consideration are the most feasible sites left on the Bureau of Reclamation’s list of 15 others that have been suggested as storage sites over the years, along with any others that there may be.

   It isn’t likely a project that received such a negative report at the local level could be turned around, especially with the cost involved.

   The Bureau’s report on Long Lake was a long time coming. Studies had been ongoing for at least 10 years leading up to the report, and discussions and proposals about the lake’s possibilities are much older than that. It was certainly never a sure thing.

   In a commentary in the Herald and News in May, Dan Keppen, executive director of the Family Farm Alliance and former executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association, said at best Long Lake was far in the future.  

   He pointed out the Bureau of Reclamation, “an agency that built its reputation on dam construction in the last century — is still in the study phase on Long Lake, and other potentially obstructionist federal regulatory agencies have yet to enter the fray.”

   Water storage should be part of the answer for the Basin’s water problems. The Bureau of Reclamation and local water users should keep the search alive for the right location.