Klamath River — In August  of 2009, the Montague Water Conservation District (MWCD) sent a letter to the Siskiyou County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (SFWD), urging attention to application #A016958, which the Montague group felt was “in peril” from the Klamath agreements.

The application pertains to a 1956 filing for 60,000 acre-feet of water with a point of diversion at Iron Gate Dam.

The 2009 letter states that the 60,000 acre-feet of water is meant for storage and consumptive use in the Shasta Valley and urges the SFWD “to work with the communities and citizens within Shasta Valley to determine the feasibility of securing Application #A016958 as soon as possible.”

The application is held by the California State Water Resources Control Board as an appropriative right, but does not specifically name the Shasta Valley as a recipient of the water.

The letter to the SFWD, however, references a legal analysis performed in 2004 that indicated that the reserved right could be used for that valley.

While not identified specifically, the water for the Shasta Valley is also referenced in the 2003 Coho Recovery Strategy prepared by the California Department of Fish and Game.

The strategy suggests that a feasibility study be conducted to determine the legal status of various reserved rights for the Shasta Valley in order to implement a water conveyance system to the valley from the Klamath River at Iron Gate Reservoir.

In January of this year, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors included on an earmark request list $1 billion to explore and possibly implement that diversion.

Whether or not the water right and diversion would be affected by the Klamath agreements has not yet been analyzed.

Kathie Smith with the State Water Resources Control Board stated Nov. 5 that the application is not contingent upon the presence of Iron Gate Dam, which may be removed under the KHSA.

Under the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, however, there are recommended flows for fish passage above where the dams now sit.

As of this date, no water has been assigned under application A016958.