Reclamation announces Klamath Project 2021 temporary operations plan; assistance to Basin stakeholders
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The following is a press release from US Bureau of Reclamation.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Today, the Bureau of Reclamation released the Klamath Project 2021 Temporary Operations Plan, which was developed in response to consecutive years of drought conditions in the Klamath Basin, including the lowest historical inflows on record into Upper Klamath Lake this year.
Reclamation also announced $15 million in immediate aid to the Klamath Project through the Klamath Project Drought Relief Agency, an additional $3 million in technical assistance to Tribes for ecosystem activities in the basin, as well as funding for groundwater monitoring in the basin. These efforts supplement additional funding provided by other Department of the Interior bureaus and is consistent with the activities outlined in the April 8 joint Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture statement relating to drought.
“This water year is unlike anything the Project has ever seen,” said Reclamation Deputy Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton. “We will continue to monitor the hydrology and look for opportunities for operational flexibility, provide assistance to Project water users and the Tribes, and keep an open dialogue with our stakeholders, the states, and across the federal government to get through this water year together.”
Reclamation solicited technical feedback from Tribes, the water user community, and other interested stakeholders in February. Input from these basin stakeholders was considered and incorporated into the 2021 Temporary Operations Plan through a process that involved the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries, consistent with provisions in the applicable Biological Opinions.
Based on the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s April 1, 2021 forecast for Water Year 2021 inflows to Upper Klamath Lake and the provisions of the 2021 Temporary Operations Plan, Reclamation is making an initial minimum Project allocation of 33,000 acre-feet. Project supply from Upper Klamath Lake will become available to charge Klamath Project canals and allow for limited irrigation no earlier than May 15. Remaining Project deliveries will begin no earlier than June 1.
Supplemental to the 33,000 acre-feet minimum initial allocation, Reclamation will operate Upper Klamath Lake to maintain the lake at or above a minimum annual elevation of 4,138.3 feet, whereby additional Project water may be available. Reclamation will monitor and adjust available supplies on at least a semi-monthly basis to assure compliance with this elevation target and other provisions of the 2021 Temporary Operations Plan. Any unauthorized releases of water for the Project that occur prior to May 15 will result in reductions to Project allocations in the 2021 Temporary Operations Plan.
The 2021 Temporary Operations Plan recognizes that the current drought conditions have produced insufficient water supplies available to meet the competing demands for water in the basin necessary to maintain water in Upper Klamath Lake for endangered C’waam (Lost River sucker) and Koptu (shortnose sucker) and to provide extensive spring flushing flows in the Klamath River for the Naypooie/A’ama (fall run Chinook salmon and threatened Southern Oregon Northern California Coast fall run Coho salmon), as specified in separate Biological Opinions from the Service and NMFS.
The plan provides guidelines for Reclamation to adaptively manage Project operations this spring to maintain certain levels of water in Upper Klamath Lake and preserve options for a flushing flow of water in the river. Under the 2021 Temporary Operations Plan, Reclamation will maintain certain river flows for salmon through September 2021.
The Klamath Project 2021 Water Operations Plan is available at https://www.usbr.gov/mp/kbao/. For additional information or assistance accessing the documents, contact the Klamath Basin Area Office at 541-883-6935.