The Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA) Board of Directors last night
endorsed the Klamath County Commission's proposal to further study a proposed
offstream storage project at Long Lake. The KWUA Board unanimously supported
sending a letter of support to the County Commissioners, urging that Long Lake
and other potentially viable storage projects be screened for feasibility. The
Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 provides the authority to
conduct such a feasibility study, but funding for the program in recent years
has been diverted to address unexpected crises that are becoming the norm in the
Klamath watershed.
Long Lake is an enclosed narrow valley located just southwest of Upper Klamath
Lake. Reclamation completed a preliminary study of this proposal in the late
1980's, but the findings were inconclusive and suggested that additional study
would be required to determine the project's feasibility. This project appears
to have potential to help meet the water demands of the Klamath River watershed.
"Ultimately, the legitimate water demands of the Klamath Basin can best be
satisfied through the development of new water storage facilities," said
KWUA Board member Bill Kennedy. "The federal government should move with
all possible haste to undertake feasibility studies for Long Lake and other
viable storage projects using the authority already provided by Congress."
Preliminary estimates suggest that 350,000 acre-feet of water could be stored in
Long Lake without substantially modifying the proposed reservoir site.
From Dan Keppen's KWUA Weekly Update, August 15, 2003