Water will flow for crops   

   Reclamation officials said the BOR also would use $5.25 million to fund a groundwater-pumping program that would contribute another 50,000 acre-feet.  

        In comparison, the Project received 75,000 acre feet from Reclamation in 2001 when the federal government shut off irrigation deliveries. To fully irrigate, the Project needs about 450,000 acre-feet, officials said.

   The Basin is facing a drought year. Precipitation and inflows into the region’s lakes and rivers are below average, and extremely low water levels in Upper Klamath Lake — lower than seen in previous drought years — add further strain.  

   Flexibility

   Mike Connor, BOR commissioner, said flexibility in current management procedures for Upper Klamath Lake and implementation of an older management strategy for the Klamath River opened the possibility for irrigation allocations.

   “It’s meaningful, but there’s more work to be   done,” he said.

   Irrigators said the knowledge there could be water is good news, but were concerned there could be strife on the Project given the gap between deliveries and demand.

   “ We’re getting into uncharted territory with this little amount of water,” said Dave Solem, manager of Klamath Irrigation District.

   Who gets what

   It’s not yet known how water would be divided amongst irrigators. Solem said there are basically two options: provide water to as many irrigators as possible, requiring it to be spread thinly over the Project, or withhold it from some irrigators so others can properly irrigate.

   Those concerned over endangered salmon in the river were less than pleased.

   “Unfortunately, the new biological opinion continues this sad tradition of giving salmon and wildlife the leftovers,” said Steve Pedery, conservation director of Oregon Wild, in a press release.

   Under two federal biological opinions, river flows in the Klamath River will be slightly less for the remainder of the spring, but would stay virtually the same this fall for salmon. Lake levels also would be closely monitored to protect endangered suckers.

   Oregon Wild and the Hoopa Valley Tribe of California said the new biological opinions would put fish in jeopardy for the sake of agriculture. They’ve called for an overall reduction of demand on water from the Project to restore the river’s balance.

   Leaf Hillman, director of the Karuk Tribe’s natural resources department, said the flows being set for fish are minimal and would only provide basic life support for salmon.

   But he attributed the water shortage partially to poor management of river flows during the winter that weren’t in step with the season’s weather. Quicker implementation of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, which aims to resolve water disputes in the river’s watershed, would allow the river and lake to be managed on a more flexible basis to avoid future water shortages.

   “We basically ran up a water deficit this winter gambling that a late season storm would bail us out, but the rains never came,” Hillman said in a press release.