Pioneer Press
Fort Jones CA
530-468-5355
April 11, 2007
Page E1, Column 1

KLAMATH BASIN - Sometimes the best ideas come to you in your sleep.
Doctor Edgar Viets, a Klamath Falls Chiropractor,  came up with a
unique one. When discussing the water issues of the Klamath River
System, Viets seemed to have the answers.

He explained to the Pioneer Press his primary concern is how to keep
water on the ground he owns. Viets, who had a minor in college of
civil engineering, owns a small farm in the Henley area of the
Klamath Basin. In the middle of the night, he woke up with the idea
and said "this is it."

A lake within a lake

 

There are several issues that must be solved. The first is keeping
water flowing to the 1,400 farms in the Klamath Basin and to the
wildlife refuges. The others include protecting the sucker fish and
keeping the water flowing downstream for the salmon. His plan
addresses these and adds a recreation area to the Klamath Lake.
For reference, Viets used a report called Water Allocation in the
Klamath Basin: An assessment of Natural Resource, Economic, Social
and Institutional Issues. The huge report was conducted by Oregon
State University and the University of California.

The report showed there is more than enough water coming into the
lake to meet all of the needs. The problem is storage. A huge amount
of water is released down river in the spring when the lake is full
and cannot hold anymore. According to the report, on an average ten
year cycle, more than 3,700,000 acre feet of excess water is sent
down river.

There are other problems that need to be addressed, according to
Viets. The lake is so shallow that in the summer the water
temperature rises which creates not only algae problems but also
affects the fish when the warm water is sent down river.

The Bureau of Reclamation agrees that more water needs to be stored
in the spring. Their plan is to purchase the Barnes Ranch near Upper
Klamath Lake, breach the current dikes and use the area for more
water storage - basically expanding the area of the lake.

The problem with this plan, according to Viets, is that by increasing
the surface area of the lake you increase the evaporation rate also.
Viets said this would create more shallow warm water.

Viets has the details of this plan worked out and has the numbers to
back them up. The following is a brief description of what he thinks
will solve most of the water issues.

The plan Viets designed includes building a large dike on the west
side of the lake. It would extend out into the lake and basically box
off a section of the deepest part. The dike would be built 40 feet
above the current water level. In the spring, when there is excess
water, it would be pumped into this section. This would raise the
inside lake level an additional 40 feet. It would also create a very
deep area where the water would stay cold.

To simplify the idea, it would be a lake inside the lake.

The dike would start where Highway 140 starts to climb Doak Mountain.
It would extend out into the lake for approximately three miles then
turn north and go an additional seven miles before heading west again
and back to the shore.

By raising the water level an additional 40 feet in the air in this
21 square mile area it would be able to store enough water for the
irrigators and the refuges.

The rest of his plan would be to dredge the lower portion of the lake
an additional 20 feet. By making the lower half of the lake deeper he
feels the water would be cooler before being sent down river. The
upper portion of Klamath Lake would be left alone.

In the summer, when more water was needed, it would be released from
inside of the diked off portion. This water should be much colder
than the surrounding lake water.

Another aspect of the Viets design is it creates a 21 square mile
recreation area inside the diked off area. According to Viets, the
algae would be significantly reduced inside of the dike because of
the colder, deeper water. He envisions this area being used for
boating, water skiing and having picnic areas.

The dike would be constructed by building two dikes approximately
1,400 feet apart. Then using the sludge from the dredging to fill in
between them. The rock needed for the dikes could be taken from the
mountain where the dike would start. The reason for building two
dikes with fill dirt in the middle is a design used to prevent damage
from earthquakes.

Walking and bike paths could be built around the dike and it could be
planted with trees and vegetation for wildlife. Over time the
vegetation would make the dike look like a natural part of the
scenery.

Viets said the plan would cost approximately $200 million. It would
take 40 workers, 18 months to complete it.

According to Viets, he took all of his figures to an engineer with
Bureau of Reclamation who reviewed them and told him he was within 10
percent on all numbers.

The Pioneer Press sat down with Christine Karas, Deputy Area Manager
and Cecil Lesley, Chief of Water and Land, with the Bureau of
Reclamation and showed them the plan. Both called it a very
interesting concept, but said it had some problems. They were not
sure that lowering the lower half of the lake 20 feet would have much
effect on temperature. They also said it would take years of
environmental studies to get it approved.