Klamath Project Farmers will get to finish irrigation season; No further cuts to water supply

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The following is a press release from the Klamath Water Users Association.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA), along with districts, individual water users, and tribes in the Klamath Basin, received a letter from the Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday, announcing that the previously communicated “likely” reduction to the Klamath Project’s water supply was no longer necessary and that Reclamation was “reaffirming” that 260,000 acre-feet of water would be available to allow farmers to finish the crops that are almost ready to harvest. KWUA estimates that there are over $100 million in crops still in the ground in the Klamath Project, mostly potatoes, onions, and garlic. 

“This situation is symptomatic of the dysfunction related to water management decisions currently being made for the Klamath Project,” commented Paul Simmons, KWUA’s Executive Director and Attorney.

In April, the Project’s water supply from Upper Klamath Lake was cut to 215,000 acre-feet (approximately half of farmers’ historical demand) despite a record-level snowpack at some locations. In May, Reclamation increased the supply slightly to 260,000 acre-feet, based on an intended end-of-September target water level in Upper Klamath Lake of 4,139.2 feet, which is 1.2 feet above the minimum level required for endangered fish in the lake. That higher lake level is equivalent to 83,000 acre-feet of water, enough to grow over two billion pounds of organic potatoes, one of the specialty crops commonly grown in the Klamath Project.

An August 18 letter from Reclamation announced that a reduction in the previously announced supply was “likely” despite continued attempts to “explore options that could mitigate any reductions.” KWUA had already been warning Reclamation for weeks that its inflow forecasts were inaccurate. Reclamation’s most recent letter provided no details on alternative sources of water to make up for its projected shortfall.

“We’re relieved to get some assurance that farmers won’t see further cuts that threaten crops almost ready to harvest,” Simmons acknowledged, “but there was never any need to go through this whole chaos.”