Written by Dan Acklen   

March 30, 2007

The irrigation season is now underway in the Klamath Basin . 

With the flick of a switch, the headgates to the "A" canal were opened, marking the start of irrigation season. 

Dave Solem is the manager of the Klamath Irrigation District.  "Always around April first, we get this "A" canal start to get charged up, and then we start flushing the canal system throughout the district.  It usually takes about two weeks - we hope to have water available to deliver to farmers around April 15th." 

The headgates themselves need to be prepared.  These giant bulkheads are installed each fall to allow for cleaning and maintenance of the fish screens, and are removed every spring. 

Solem is confident that he'll be able to keep water flowing to farmers this year.  "Well, we hope we're not going to have any surprises this year - it's a below average year, though, the conditions out there aren't too good.  So we're going to have to be careful with our water, and manage it properly, and we hope we get through in a somewhat normal fashion".