U.S. Water News Online
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. -- Now that farmers in the Klamath Basin will be getting a trickle water for their livestock and crops, they face the task of deciding where it should go, and how much they and their neighbors should get.
``The minute people see it in the ditches, they're going to be taking whatever they can,'' said Chris Miles, who ranches between the towns of Merrill and Malin. ``I don't blame them, because I'll be doing the same thing.''
The irrigation is starting in July in this area along the Oregon-California border. Normally it begins in April, but the federal government withheld water to about 1,400 farmers and ranchers who belong to the Klamath Project, using the water to aid struggling sucker fish and coho salmon.
Recently, Interior Secretary Gale Norton freed up some water after officials determined there was more in the Upper Klamath Lake than previously thought. Water began flowing into irrigation canals in late July, but it will take 2-3 weeks for the water to work its way through the estimated 1,400 miles of canals that crisscross the basin.
``We may have to consider limitations on time and quantity to make sure everyone has a shot,'' said Dave Solem, manager of the Klamath Irrigation District. ``We know people are not going to be extremely patient, because every day the likelihood of their land being productive gets less and less.''
Land owners are getting ready by clearing weeds that have sprouted in the dirt canals and preparing sprinkler systems and other irrigation equipment. Many still don't know whether the water will help them.
``People have an emotional attachment to their fields, and they want to get some water on them,'' Harold Hartman said. Hartman is president of the Malin Irrigation District, which is among the smallest of the nearly 20 districts that will get a shot at the little water that is being released.
``But you have to be practical,'' Hartman said, ``and not use water where it's not going to do any good, because it's needed somewhere else.''
The 75,000 acre-feet of water that Norton ordered released represents barely one-fifth of what farms would use in a normal season, and no one knows exactly how much they will get.
Miles is hoping he gets enough to save his dry fields so he can bring in the purebred cattle he has grazing on a distant pasture, which he's renting for $1,100 a month.
``All these folks are just desperate, waiting for politicians to make a decision while people lose their livelihoods,'' he said. ``I think everyone will be practical with what they use. I think everyone learned at least that much from this whole deal.''
Earlier this summer, the situation raised tensions among farmers and ranchers looking for seepage in drainage ditches or overflow from wells. After desperate farmers forced open headgates to the main irrigation canal on July 4, some farmers camped out to keep their more militant peers from wasting more water.
Farmers who couldn't afford their irrigation fees, or who stopped payment because they gave up on getting any water this year, cannot use any of the recently released water until they pay up.
``I talked to one guy who sold all his irrigation equipment to pay his bills,'' said Dave Solem, manager of the Klamath Irrigation District. ``Now he says, `I can't take water even if I wanted to.''
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