Tour Route Map - The Klamath Project
1. Depart from the Shilo Inn at 8:15 a.m. for the "A" Canal Headgate / Fish Screen
2. Arrive at the headgate. Bill Kennedy, Board Member of the Klamath Irrigation District will guide the tour through this brand new $14 million facility.
The headgates divert water held behind Link River Dam at the head of the Klamath River. The state-of-the-art fish screen was built in only seven months, after nearly 10 years of planning. Klamath Irrigation District played an important role in pushing for a modified design that eventually became reality.
Trash Rack at the head of the "A" Canal
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Klamath Basin Rancher and KIamath Irrigation District Board Member
Bill Kennedy talking to Tour Group at the new Headgate/Fish Screen complex
(Photo Credit: Lucie LaBonte, Curry County Commissioner)
Start of the $14 Million new fish screen complex - first fish deterrent
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
The "Gripper" - For removal of water bourn trash and weeds that make it past
the Trash Rack (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
The "V" shaped fish screen (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Area between the fish screen and the concrete walls of the "A" Canal
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Two of the fish screen panels laid out for us to see - very small openings for the water to pass through and keep the endangered suckers out
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
The left side screen scrubber - moves back and forth on a timed schedule cleaning the screen of built up algae (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Mechanism of steel wire rope and pulleys that move the screen cleaners, located at the very bottom of the "V" shaped fish screen
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Some Tour Members (Photo Credit: Lucie LaBonte, Curry County Commissioner)
Water leaving the fish screen on it's way to the bypass pipe and the fish evaluation station (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Discharge from the 3 story fish evaluation station - main bypass
(that leads to the underground pipe) - that returns all fish back to
the Link River (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
The original Reclamation Project was 225,000 acres of which 150,000 were drained and reclaimed lands in the Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake areas.
Upper Klamath Lake supplies water to 180,000 Project acres while the rest of the Project gets its water from the Lost River system.
Upper Klamath Lake is 80,000 acres and contains 500,000 acre-feet of water at full pool. This does not take into account the amount of water in "dead pool."
Highest elevation for Upper Klamath Lake is 4143.3' - dead storage is at 4136.8' so there is a total of 7 feet of water available for irrigation in the Klamath Project and down stream users.
3. Depart Headgates for Lost River at the Olene Gap. En route, Dan Keppen, Executive Director of the Klamath Water Users Association provided an overview of key current challenges facing local water users.
Lost River bridge at Olene Gap (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Once at the Olene Gap, Bill Kennedy discussed and explained East-Side Project facilities:
Gerber Dam and Reservoir - on Miller Creek, 14 miles east of Bonanza, Oregon provides storage for irrigation and reduces flow into the reclaimed portions of Tule Lake. Gerber Reservoir can hold 95,000 acre-feet at full storage.
Clear Lake Dam and Reservoir - on Lost River, 19 miles southeast of Malin, Oregon, provides storage for irrigation and reduces flow into the reclaimed portion of Tule Lake. Clear Lake Reservoir can hold 500,000 acre-feet of water, but has never been filled to capacity.
Malone Diversion Dam - on Lost River, about 11 miles downstream from Clear Lake Dam, diverts water to serve lands in Langell Valley.
Miller Diversion Dam - on Miller Creek, 8 miles below Gerber Dam, diverts water to serve lands in Langell Valley.
Harpold Dam - on Lost River, near Bonanza, diverts water to serve lands in Horsefly Irrigation District.
Lost River runs approximately 100 miles from Clear Lake, California up into Oregon and then south to Tule Lake which is 25 miles from it's beginning in Clear Lake.
Next on the agenda was a drive from the Olene Gap on Hill Road along the G Canal with Steve Kandra describing groundwater issues, local principal products and markets, and the history of pre-Project irrigation works near Merrill.
Nuss Lake - A spring fed lake located along Hill Road
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
4. A short stop was made at the Lost River Diversion Dam, about 4 miles south of Olene. This dam diverts excess water to the Klamath River through the Lost River Diversion Channel. The Lost River Diversion extends from the dam to the Klamath River, 8 miles distant. The channel also supplies additional irrigation water from the Klamath River by reverse flow for the reclaimed lakebed lands of Tule Lake.
Horseshoe shaped Lost River Diversion Dam
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
A slight detour had to be made due to road construction on the Malin Highway, and we headed down Highway 39 to Stateline Road.
Harold Hartman took over as tour director to explain the efficiency measures taken by the districts in the Merrill - Malin area. A rolling stop was made at the main pumping station for Shasta Irrigation District - the only district in the project that has a pressurized system of underground water lines to each farmer in the district.
This area also contains many fields that have been enrolled in the 2002 Klamath Project Environmental Water Bank - and was a good opportunity to see firsthand the effects of idled farmland.
Anderson Rose Dam on Lost River just north of Stateline Road
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
5. Arrived in Tulelake for lunch. During lunch, Marshall Staunton explained farmland conversion to wetlands in the area above Upper Klamath Lake.
There are approximately 500,000 acres of irrigated farm and ranch land above Iron Gate Dam. Of that total, only 225,000 to 200,000 acres comprise the Klamath Project.
There are between 240,000 and 250,000 acres of national, state, and privately owned wildlife wetlands and refuges in the upper basin.
Back on the bus after lunch, Earl Danosky of the Tulelake Irrigation Project explained the TID canal lining project just southeast of Castle Rock as we headed to the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge.
Originally, Tule Lake was 80,000 acres and could hold 120,000 acre-feet of water in wet years. Since Tule Lake was at the end of a closed basin system, it was a huge evaporation pond.
Most evaporation in the Klamath Basin takes place during April to October and between 30 and 36 inches of water evaporates each year.
Project farmer John Crawford took over as tour director to explain the homestead lands. After WWI, the east side of the project was opened to homestead by veterans. The west side was opened to veterans of WWII.
Tulelake Growers Association Executive Director Deb Crisp explained the national wildlife refuge lease lands issues. The Lower Basin Refuges get tailwater from the project. There are 24,000 acres of farm land in the lower refuges because of the Kuchel Act. Farming on the lower refuges is very important for the wildlife in the area. Migrating geese and native deer eat potatoes left in the fields after harvest. Besides potatoes, geese and ducks also eat alfalfa and grain.
Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
7. Arrive at D Plant. D Plant is the pumping station that pumps water from the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge to the Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge through Sheepy Ridge.
Earl Danosky from TID explained how the pumping station and the 6,600 foot concrete-lined tunnel that conveys drainage water from the Tule Lake restricted sumps.
Canal from the Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge that takes excess water
to the "D" Pump Plant where it is pumped through the tunnel in Sheepy Ridge into the Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Plant "D" at the base of Sheepy Ridge
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Concrete Block "house" where the Sheepy Ridge tunnel starts
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Sheepy Ridge above "D" Plant
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
8. Klamath Drainage District En route, Sam Henzel, KDD Director outlined on-farm water storage opportunities, described lease land farming issues on the Oregon side of the border, and outlined water quality aspects of the Straits Drain, the "exit" from the Klamath Project.
Historically, excess water from the Klamath River would flow into the Lower Klamath Lake area in the spring and stay there to evaporate. The elevation of the natural barrier reef at Keno was 4087' while the average elevation of the lower lake was 4085'. The managers of the Lower Klamath Lake Wildlife Refuge now engage in fall flooding for the fall bird migration instead of the historical spring flooding.
Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge looking south from State Line Road
(Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
According to Sam, employee's of the Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge are finding dead ducks in the refuge due to botulism.
Klamath Drainage District operates just as it's name implies. They remove water instead of add. Farmers in the KDD use an average of .8 acre feet of water per irrigation season to grow crops because they normally flood their fields during the winter and the soil releases stored water during the growing season.
The Straits Drain has 2 separate pumping station locations. Each pumping location lifts water 20 feet for a total of 40 feet in elevation.
Straits Drain conveys drainage water from Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge and irrigated land which has been reclaimed from Lower Klamath Lake. The drain removes the excess winter water flows and the drainage from the lower basin, a closed basin, to the Klamath River.
9. The Straits Drain near Highway 97 South
Straits Drain Pump Station "FF" located just east of Highway 97 South -
pumps Klamath Project water the last 20 feet in elevation to reach the
Klamath River (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Straits Drain Pump Station "F" located just east of Highway 97 South -
helps "FF" pump Klamath Project water the last 20 feet in elevation to
reach the Klamath River (Photo Credit: Barb Hall)
Ady District Board Member Bob Flowers with a map of the
Klamath Project at the Straits Drain Pumping Station
(Photo Credit: Lucie LaBonte, Curry County Commissioner)
Bob Flowers discussed pre-project Klamath River and Link River hydrology.
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