Klamath basin needs prompt water supply initiative

June 1997

U.S. Water News Online

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- An initiative is being developed to find ways to augment and increase the inadequate water resources of the Klamath Basin. The effort, the Klamath Basin Water Supply Initiative, is a partnership among the states of California and Oregon, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the Klamath Compact Commission. The initiative was created in an effort to minimize water shortages and improve habitat conditions in the highly-utilized Klamath Basin.

"The broad support of this effort by many interested stakeholders is a positive sign for the ultimate success in addressing this important, multi-state problem," said Assistant Interior Secretary for Water and Science Patricia J. Beneke. "Water augmentation is a key to addressing the needs of this water-short basin," Beneke continued. Her comments were echoed by the head of the Oregon Department of Water Resources, Martha Pagel, who stated, "Combining all our knowledge surrounding the difficult water issues facing the Klamath Basin will provide us a solid basis for successful resolution of those issues."

The basin's water supply cannot always meet the needs of listed species, tribal resource needs, contractual obligations to agriculture, and wildlife refuge needs, according to officials. Alice G. Kilham, chair of the Klamath Compact Commission, says potential solutions to the supply problems are broad and inclusive. "There are solutions that we believe will be embraced by all stakeholders as we move toward a public process to resolve this critical water supply and use issue," Kilham said.

Some of the potential solutions identified for study in the initiative include:

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• Habitat Restoration - above and adjacent to Upper Klamath Lake, the Klamath River, and downstream tributaries
• Raise Existing Dams - Gerber/Link River Dams, PacifiCorp Hydroelectric dams, and other federal and non-federal facilities
• Demand Management - water conservation, cropping pattern changes, drought water bank, purchase of water, and rotational land fallowing
• Conjunctive Use - Lost River/Tule Lake, mainstem Klamath River, Klamath Project area, Lower Klamath Lake area, Scott Valley, and Shasta River Valley
• Operational Changes - water transfers, real-time stream monitoring, streamflow management options (instream flow modifications, barrier removal, riffle reconstruction, etc.), and groundwater exchange for temperature control
• Groundwater Pumping - supplement flows to Upper Klamath Lake, the Klamath River, and Clear Lake
• Water Import/Export Opportunities
• Flow-Through Retention Reservoirs - distribute flows over a longer time period without interrupting fish passage
• New Storage Facilities (onstream and offstream) - Straits Drain marsh restoration, Boundary Dam, Chiloquin Narrows or Beatty Reservoirs, Long/Round/Aspen Lake Valleys, Swan or Alkali Lakes, increased Tule Lake levels, Upper Klamath/Lower Klamath/Tule Lakes pumped storage, and levee areas converted to water storage at Upper Klamath/Agency Lakes.

The initiative is also expected to include demonstration projects.

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