Information
from:
The
following information concerns historical and present day (1971) data and quotes
concerning
Upper
Klamath
Basin Water Quality:
1.
Introduction:
Page XIV, Item #21: “Pollution
of ground and surface water is a problem in the basin and is due to a
large extent to natural causes.”
2.
Page
33: “Water quality in (the)
3.
Page
33: “Continual accumulation of
organic nutrients in Upper
Klamath Lake
has several significant effects on fish, the most desirable of which is the
rapid growth and large size of trout. Less
desirable, however, is a loss of dissolved oxygen as water temperatures rise and
organic constituents increase, contributing to heavy blooms of phytoplankton or
algae.”
4.
Water
Quality, Page 66: “Iron occurs
throughout the
5.
Water
Quality, Page 67: “Excerpts from
the1854 diary of Lt. Henry L. Abbott, leader of a railroad survey party, attest
to the condition of the lake water being due to natural causes:
“The water from the lake had a dark color, and a disagreeable taste
occasioned apparently by decayed Tule.” And
“The taste of the water was so disagreeable that several vain attempts were
made to discover a spring in the vicinity.”
(Of what is now named Cove Point near the south end of the lake.)
6.
Page
68: “Manmade wastes, however, are
secondary in detrimental effect to those introduced by natural agents.”
“Fish
kill in the reach from Lake
Ewauna
to Keno in August 1968 was caused by slow almost stagnate water flows and zero
dissolved oxygen.”
Back
in 1968, Coliform levels averaged 49 at Link River – Fremont Bridge and
increased to 20,285 at the Klamath River – Highway 97 Bridge about 5 ½ miles
downstream – well above the safe limit of 1,000 per milliliter.
(has this changed since 1968?)
High
coliform counts reflects the concentration of discharges from sewage treatment
plants and industries. The condition
is aggravated by the extremely low velocities and warm temperatures experienced
in this reach. (Page 70) Water
temperatures as high as 77 degrees F have been recorded. (Higher water temps =
lower dissolved oxygen)
7.
Page
75: “
8.
Page
76: (the)
9.
Page
76: The
10.
Page
102: “ . . . surface inflows to
the lake are rich in nutrients and organic matter.
The majority of nutrients present in the lake inflows are from natural
sources, although irrigation return flows contribute minimal
amounts. The majority of organic
matter enters the lake from marshlands via the
11.
Page
108: “Some erosion and
sedimentation occurs, due to geologic causes and is the natural degradation of
the earth’s crust. The largest
areas subject to geologic erosion lie within the National Forest boundaries and
resulting sedimentation generally does not reach major drainage systems . . . Many salts and
nutrients, especially phosphorous, are added to surface water.
These salts and nutrients are contained in the soils and are dissolved
during heavy sediment loading.”
12.
Pollution
– Page 108: “Pollution from
domestic, municipal, and industrial waste discharges are concentrated mainly in Lake
“Elimination of major source of pollution in the
“In
the drainage to
“In
the lower
“There
is also a substantial thermal pollution problem in this area, partly contributed
by the irrigation return flows and by the many warm-water springs that make up
the
13.
Summary
and Conclusions – Page 217: “A
large portion of the
14.
Water in the
The
following information concerns historical and present day (1971) data and quotes
concerning
Upper
“Inventory Study”
“Because of the ‘Klamath River
Basin Compact’ (between
269,000 irrigated acres in Oregon
in 1971 – page xii.
#16 – There are consumptive water
rights for 2,878 cfs within the basin – irrigation rights account for the
greatest consumptive use with 2,754 cfs.
#19 – Of the total water consumption
in the basin, irrigation use consumes about 98% - xiii.
#23
– To satisfy documented fish life needs in lower basin streams it would
require approximately 250,000 acre-feet of annual outflow from the basin –
xiv.
#30 – Small reservoirs on important
tributaries could reduce local flooding and erosion, and provide late season
water for irrigation, livestock and fish life – xiv.
#33 – There are 980,000 acres of
mapped irrigable land within the basin – xv
(Page 2 & 3) - Total Basin acres
in Oregon 3,633,1000 – 85 miles North/South, 70 miles East/West – California
has 1,488,800 acres for a total if 5,121,900 acres.
(Page 3) –
(Page 3) –
(Page 4) –
(Page 4) – Wood River headwaters is
Wood River Springs, 17 miles due north of Agency Lake and drains into Agency
Lake.
(Page 4) – Four Mile Lake provides
storage for release into “Cascade Canal” and exports water from the Klamath
Basin to the Rogue Basin – Howard’s Prairie lake water also goes to the
Rogue Basin.
(Page 4) – The basalt ‘dike’ is
considered the start of the short Link River.
“Link River discharges into Lake
Ewauna, which during peak floods, overflowed into Lower Klamath Lake.”
“Historically, flood overflows from
Lake Ewauna fed this large natural marsh known as Lower
Klamath Lake. This area inundated
extended from Klamath River into California and covered approximately 94,000
acres as indicated on an old 1905 map.
It was in this old lake bed that some of the early private irrigation
development occurred. The area in
Oregon has now been almost entirely reclaimed for Ag purposes.”
(Page 5) – Klamath river estuary is
at the town of Klamath, California – 208 miles from the John C. Boyle Dam.
(Page 5) – “Historically,
Tule Lake was a large natural sump, which at times reached a water surface of
about 90,000 acres . . . the lake would then slowly recede during the summer and
fall months due to evaporation.” (NO
historical outflow before the project!)
(Page 7) – “Drainage
is poor in the flat-lying valleys, as evidenced by the meandering sources of
three of the four major river systems.”
(Page 7) – Elevations:
5,000 ft at Sycan Marsh – 4,030 ft at the Tule Lake Sump = 970 feet
difference.
Max peak to the east is 8,364 ft -- Gearhart Mountain and on
the west is 9,495 ft Mt. McLaughlin, which is the highest peak in the basin.
Max relief goes from approximately 6,745 ft from Mt.
McLaughlin to about 2,750 ft elevation where the Klamath River leaves the basin
at the Or/Ca boundary, 25 miles SW of Klamath Falls.
(Page 7) – Climate
– “Relatively dry summers with high temperatures and wet winters with
moderate to low temperatures. Annual
precipitation and native vegetation indicate the climate is semiarid.”
(Page 8 - 9) – History –
1820 – Hudson Bay trappers and Peter Skene Ogden
1840’s – J. C. Fremont - first visit
1846 – J. C. Fremont’s second visit -- Levi Scott and the Applegate Brothers laid out the Applegate Trail
1850’s – Wallace Baldwin pastured 50 horses in the lower Klamath country
Middle 1850’s – Military survey party involved in the Pacific Rail Road Survey – Lt.’s Williamson and Abbott, led by military escort – Lt. Phil Sheridan. Railroad route from the Sacramento Valley to the Columbia River
1866 – First permanent settler, Wendelin Nuss arrived shortly after the first homesteader, Orson Stearns arrived and he was followed by Steven Stukel
1867 – George Nurse, the storekeeper at Fort Klamath, established a store and ferry at the base of the Klamath Falls near Linkville
1870’s – First water rights in Swan Lake Valley by Lucien Applegate and first irrigation of lands along Lost River by Silas Kilgore
1870’s – Modoc Indian War
1877 – Linkville Ditch Company was in operation, delivering water for irrigation to town lots
Prior to 1877, water rights were established for irrigation along Sprague River
The Moore Ditch ran down Link River to power the sawmill
1880’s – Van Brimmer Ditch constructed and irrigation started in the Wood River Valley
1886 – 4,000 acres under irrigation near Merrill by the Van Brimmer Ditch Company and it was then extended via the Adams Canal to irrigate lands farther east
1892 – Moore Ditch was expanded
1902 – Bureau of Reclamation Act
1903 – A reconnaissance survey was conducted by Mr. Whistler and Mr. Green, engineers from the US Reclamation Service
1903 – Modoc Point Irrigation System was begun
1905 – Klamath Water Users Association was formed and the Klamath Project received approval from the Secretary of the Interior
1905 – “The State of Oregon and Reclamation authorized the US government to 1) lower the water level of Upper Klamath Lake. 2) lower and drain Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake, 3) use beds of said lakes for storage, and 4) cede to the US any lands uncovered by lowering or draining or said lakes.”
1905 – First contract was awarded for construction of the “A” Canal
1907 – Southern Pacific Railroad built embankment between the Klamath River and Lower Klamath Lake. US Reclamation installed structures in this embankment at the Klamath Straits so the Klamath River overflow into Lower Klamath Lake could be controlled
1908 –
President Theodore Roosevelt signed EO #924 establishing the Klamath Lake
Reservation upon lands in the Lower Klamath Lake area (National Wildlife Refuge – 5 within the Basin, 4 of which are
superimposed upon lands under primary jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation)
– 1964 Public Law 88-567 stabilizing ownership, administration,
and management of the 4 refuges
(Page 11) – Population: 1960 - 54,000, 88% in Oregon with the remainder 6,300 in Modoc and Siskiyou Counties. 1960 population of Klamath Falls – 17,000 (most rapid growth happened between 1910 – 1930 construction of the Klamath Project [Page 13]). By 2020 population could rise to nearly 80,000 in Klamath County alone.
(Page 14 – 16) Land
Use in Ownership – Oregon Only: The
Oregon portion of the basin contains approximately 3,633,000 acres of which the
largest landowner is the US government with 1,830,500 acres or almost 50%.
Private, muni, county, and state amounts to 1,661,100 or 46%.
4% is made up of Indian Trust Lands. (1971)
273,600 acres – Federally owned – public domain by the BLM
1,417,600 acres – Federally owned – by the US Forest Service
Small acres – Federally owned – by Bureau Of Reclamation and the Department of Defense
440,000 acres – Privately owned – by large timber companies
141,500 acres
– Bureau Indian Affairs owned – in Indian Trust Lands managed
by the US Bank of Portland
(Page 15) – Largest portion of land use –
approximately 71% of the Oregon portion of the Basin is made up of forest land,
next comes range and pasture lands with 16%, and total croplands in Oregon
portion only make up 8% of total land, with 5% under other uses.
(Page 16) – Economy
– Natural resources: Most
important contributors to the basin economy is Ag and Timber (both renewable)
[Timber has done way down since 1971].
In 1968, there were 58 firms classified as manufacturing
firms with 25 dealing with wood products manufacturing.
Largest employer is lumber and wood products at 18% or 3,400 in 1968.
Ag was at 9% or 1,700 employees. 17%
in wholesale and retail, 27% in service industries, and 17% in government.
19,000 total people employed in 1968.
Unemployment was at 4.7% in 1968.
(Page 19) – Timber
Industry: First sawmill was
built in 1863 in Fort Klamath. Today
(1968 – 1971) 350 million board feet is processed annually.
Landowner
Acres
%
USFS 1,125,300 29%
BLM 74,100 8%
NPS 0%
Indian Trust 131,900 8%
Private Forest Industry 421,800 30%
State Owned 34,000 3%
Other 363,800 22%
In 1971 there were 10 lumber mills operating in the
Klamath Basin producing 380 million board feet of lumber.
1941 was the peak production year of 808.6 million board feet.
Cut timber – 398.5 mbf – some exported out of the basin.
(Page 21) – AG:
Klamath County had approximately 270,000 acres privately owned land
in Ag in 1964, 86% was irrigated. In
1971, 70% was irrigated. Principal
crops were potatoes, grains, peas, grass and ligumne seed, alfalfa, grass hay,
and pasture.
(Page 21) – In
1945 there were 1,421 farms in Klamath County, average in excess of 980 acres.
In 1959, farms were down to 1,089 but averaged 1,390 acres.
Most recent numbers are 1,072 farms in excess of 1,450 acres – included
are 98 farms with less then 10 acres and 101 in excess of 2,000 acres.
(Page 21) – In 1954, 65 % were owner operated, in 1964,
61% were owner operated, Tenant
farmers were only 8% (Page 22).
(Page 22) – In 1964, 27% total cropland was devoted to
alfalfa, then barley and oats at 34.2%, and potatoes were only 5.5%.
(Page 25) – Production
yields have increased per acre from 1954 – 1964.
Wheat and oats up 90 and 100% respectively.
Potato yields up 42%.
Potatoes are the
most important crop in terms of total value of sales (fresh market consumption
– 1965). $4,818,000 for
spuds, $2,308,000 for all hay.
Cow-calf is
predominant type of livestock in 1968. Total
income from livestock was $16,794,000. (Page
26) Approximately
70,000 head of cattle were moved from California to the Basin for summer pasture
in 1969. Hogs and chickens have been
phased out. Sheep have decreased as
well.
(Page 27) – In 1930 census, there were 36,000 head of
cattle in Klamath County. In 1964,
there were 40,217 head. In 1930,
there were some 140,000 head of sheep, and in 1964 there were only 40,400 head.
Dairy cows – 1940: 8,000 head
1964: 2,100 head.
(Page 27) – Costs
of the Klamath Project since 1905: $20,000,000
which 87% has been repaid to date (1971) with about $2,700,000 being contracted
for repayment with all payments current.
(Page 31) – Waterfowl:
80% of the Pacific flyway waterfowl pass through the Klamath Basin.
40% in Oregon, 60% in California.
(Page 33) – Game
Fish: Kokanee and Coho have been
introduced into Lake of the Woods, 4 Mile Lake, and other high mountain lakes.
Warm water game fish native to the Basin:
Black crappie, largemouth bass, yellow perch, mullet (Lost River Sucker).
(Page 36) – The
Basin refuges (in 1971) encompass an area of approximately 190 square miles.
(Page 38) – Water
Supply:
“Flow characteristics of the Klamath Basin streams are
typical of semiarid regions.
Normally these streams would exhibit extreme differences in both seasonal
and annual yield; however, because of the
numerous springs contributing to relatively “large” base flows and
manipulation by storage of other basin streams relatively small diversity
occurs.”
Records from October 1929 – Sept 1968 (40 years)
include “dry cycle” of the 1930 decade and the “wet cycle” of the
1950’s.
(Page 39) – “Mean annual stream flow at the station
“Klamath River at Keno” for the base period is 1,205,700 acre-ft per year.
For the entire period of record (1929 – 1968, 48 years) the average
annual flow is also 1,205,700 acre-ft.”
(Page 39) – “The total annual snow fall at (the)
Klamath Falls weather station is approximately 41 inches and at Crater Lake
National Park Service headquarters, approximately 521 inches.”
“Mid-winter rains are frequent in lower elevations, maximum
precipitation occurs in December and January.
(Page 50) – Evaporation:
“Both
temperature and wind conditions have a significant effect on evaporation rates
from exposed water surfaces as well as total evaporation from vegetated areas.
Evaporation loses from water surfaces in the basin vary from over 4 feet
per year to as little as 1 ½ feet per year, being greatest in the low-lying
areas of the basin. Upper Klamath
Lake has an evaporation rate of between 3 ½ to 4 feet per year on average;
whereas Clear Lake at a higher elevation, has a recorded evaporate rate of
between 2 ½ and 3 ½ feet per year on average.”
“Evaporation
data on vegetated areas in the basin have been estimated from 1 ½ feet per year
for large stands of pine to less then 1 foot per year for noncommercial
vegetation; such as sagebrush and low lying prairie lands.
Values estimated for crops vary from 2.7 feet per year to 1.7 feet per
year for alfalfa and 1.5 feet per year to 1.7 feet per year for grain.”
(Page 53) – Annual
Runoff into Upper Klamath Lake:
Williamson River – 721,500 acre feet of water
Sprague River – contributes 414,300 acre feet of water
to the Williamson
Sycan River only contributes only 30% of its total water to
the Williamson because the Sycan Marsh takes 70%
Wood River (Page 55) at Fort Klamath – contributes
171,800 acre feet
(Page 58) Upper
Klamath Lake – the natural average of inflow to Upper Klamath Lake totals 1,420,400
acre feet.
The Williamson, Wood, and Sprague Rivers total
approximately 923,000.
The difference is made up of additional surface inflows from the
surrounding watershed area (approximately 300 sq miles) and flows from springs
and seeps.
(Page 60) – Annual
runoff from the Klamath River drainage area above the California border is
249,000 acre feet (water added to the Klamath River between the project lands
and the California border).
(Page 62) – Water
Supply:
“About 266,000 acre feet per year is estimated to have
been the average diversion from Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River during
1951 – 1967 period. This
represents about 20% of the total inflow to Upper Klamath Lake over a base
period and amounts to about 73% of the total Project supply.
The great majority, 66% of the total is delivered via the “A” Canal,
with the remaining 7% being delivered from the Klamath River via the Lost River
Diversion Canal . . . Runoff from the Lost River system yields the remaining
102,000 acre feet per year.”
(Page 70) – Lost
River is the principal water source for more then 200,000 acres and is
essentially an irrigation channel.
(Page 75) – The
Straits Drain:
“Much of this
area receives water reportedly (1966) reused at least 2 ½ times on fertilized
cropland during its long course through the Klamath Project.”
(Page 83) – “Water
Rights and Depletions”:
“Water rights data for the Klamath Basin are summarized
from State Engineer’s records and contain water rights by stream diversion
point, quantity, priority date, and use. The
data are restricted to surface water rights and exclude those for the Klamath
Project. In total, surface water
rights would permit annual maximum legal depletion of 3,345,548 acre feet per
year from the surface waters of the basin.”
(Page 84) – Williamson and Sprague Rivers flow through
the now dissolved Klamath Indian Reservation – Adjudication proceedings forth
coming in both streams will change.
(Page 95) – Irrigation
(under Water Use and Control):
“The great
majority of water consumed in the basin is for irrigation.
On the 380,000 acres irrigated about 908,000 acre feet are required
annually. Consumption is estimated
to be about 496,000 acre feet.” .
. . “About 269,000 acres are
surfaced irrigated in the basin with almost 111,000 being classed as
sub-irrigated. The surface irrigated
lands require 764,000 acre feet annually, with consumption estimated to amount
to almost 353,000 acre feet per year.”
Sub-irrigated lands consume nearly 144,000 acre feet per
year. (Sub-irrigated are considered
natural wetlands, such as the basins extensive marshlands.)
(Page 97) – “Of
the 380,000 acres presently (1971) irrigated, about 63% is utilized for pasture.
Alfalfa is produced on 19%, with hay and grain accounting for 15%.
Potatoes were grown on only 2% of the basins irrigated land.”
(Page 97) – “Estimated Mean Seasonal Unit Values of
Consumptive Use vary between crops. The
most extreme example is alfalfa, which varies from as low as 1.7 acre feet in
the Williamson drainage to as high as 2.7 acre feet in the Lost River drainage.
Effective precipitation occurring during the growing season supplies some
of the needed water for plant growth.
(Page 99) – Back in 1971, Basin water efficiency was
only 89%, since then it has risen to 98% efficiency.
The consumption value includes evaporation and seepage losses in the
distribution system and from Tule and Lower Klamath Lakes.
(Page 102) – Hydroelectric
Power:
“ . . . the natural configuration of the lake, which
averages only 8 to 10 feet in depth. A
small area between Eagle Ridge and Bare Island is about 40 to 50 feet deep.”
. . . “Lake levels are fluctuated within contract limits in response to
the needs of irrigation on the Klamath Project lands, requirements for power
generation, and minimum fish flows at downstream power generation plants.
Maintenance of maximum water surface elevations in the lake would require
reduction of releases for those purposes and also would result in an increase in
evaporation losses from the larger water surface area.”
(Page 104) – “Streams in which zero flows has been
recorded or observed are Sycan River, the Williamson River above Spring Creek,
and the upper reaches of the Sprague River.
Other streams in the basin have experienced instantaneous minimum flows
lower than those recommended.
(Page 104) – The Klamath Basin contains large areas of
marshland. These areas, plus the
lower elevation lakes, provide excellent habitat for waterfowl and other
wildlife. The estimated seasonal water consumption in the basin amounts to
approximately 130,000 acre feet from about 36,000 acres of marsh.
The marshes provide critical habitat for waterfowl using the Pacific
Flyway.
Lower Klamath Lake 22,800 acres
Clear Lake 33,500 acres
Tule Lake 37,000 acres
Upper Klamath Lake 12,700 acres
Klamath Forest 15,200 acres
Total
121,200 acres (in
1971)
(Page 105) – “Upper
Klamath Lake loses approximately 225,000 acre feet of water to evaporation when
it’s surface area is 63,000 acres. (3.57 feet per acre).
Hence, the demand for large surface water acres for recreational and
wildlife use results in direct consumption of water.”
(Page 108) – Drainage:
“Approximately 10 percent of the land area in the basin has major drainage problems due mainly to high ground water tables. In some areas, irrigation has resulted in raising the ground water table to within the root zone of normally well drained soils. Marshlands have been drained by diking and reclaimed for agricultural use, with significant concentrations around Upper Klamath Lake and within the old lakebed of the lower Klamath Lake. Pasture land has been improved to a limited extent in the Sprague and Sycan valley.”