Klamath Falls News - Locally owned news brand, reporting stories affecting citizens of the Klamath Basin.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - On September 11, Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke issued a final ruling in a lawsuit brought by the federal government against the Klamath Drainage District (KDD). The ruling holds that KDD may not divert water from a canal that it owns, using water rights that are in KDD’s name, unless the U.S. Buruea Bureau of Reclamation authorizes it to do so.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - On Sept. 11, 2023, Magistrate Judge Marke Clarke released findings and recommendations in two lawsuits by the Klamath Tribes against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Project operations. The Klamath Water Users Association, siding with Reclamation, argued the 2021 and 2022 operations complied with the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Read MoreKLAMATH 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
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Reclamation announced today that the Klamath Project water supply allocation, originally announced on April 13 and increased on May 19, will remain at 260,000 acre-feet and no reductions will be made to Klamath Project water users.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Yesterday marked a significant move by the Klamath Irrigation District (K.I.D) to safeguard the interests of its farmers and countless others across the Western United States.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - With over 180% snowpack currently sitting in the mountains of the Klamath River Watershed, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced water deliveries for the Klamath Project last Thursday at a mere 215,000 acre-feet. Just 47.7% of what would be full deliveries (450,000 acre-feet) for the project.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore - The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) announced the initial 2023 irrigation supply from Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River for farms and wildlife refuges within the Klamath Project at Klamath Water Users Association’s (KWUA) annual meeting on April 13, 2023. Reclamation’s initial allocation is 215,000 acre-feet of water, which represents approximately 60 percent of the water needed this year for farms and wildlife refuges served by the Klamath Project.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Bureau of Reclamation, in coordination with PacifiCorp, will increase flows at Link River Dam and below Iron Gate Dam to reduce the risk of disease for salmon in the Klamath River. From April 19 through the end of the month, flows will vary on the Link and Klamath rivers.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Bureau of Reclamation announced the 2023 water supply allocations for Klamath Project contractors at the Klamath Water Users Association annual meeting last evening. In addition, Reclamation announced $13 million for drought resiliency, ecosystem enhancement, and groundwater monitoring in the Klamath Basin.
Read MoreWASHINGTON — Building on months of close collaboration and engagement with Klamath Basin stakeholders, Tribes, and federal, state and local leaders, the Department of the Interior today announced that nearly $26 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has been allocated for Klamath Basin restoration projects, including nearly $16 million for ecosystem restoration projects in the Basin and $10 million to expand the Klamath Falls National Fish Hatchery.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The day after our country celebrated its independence, and just three days after water in KDD’s North Canal was used to fight a wildfire in a nearby Midland neighborhood, the United States Department of Justice, on behalf of the Bureau of Reclamation, filed a complaint against the district alleging there is no “Project Supply” available for the district and further alleging the district is making “unauthorized diversions” in breach of its contract.”
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Senior leaders from the Department of the Interior finished a two-day visit to the Klamath Basin this week to meet with Tribes, state and county officials, interagency partners, and water users to discuss near- and long-term solutions related to drought impacts and highlight how investments from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help protect and conserve sp
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Bureau of Reclamation, in coordination with PacifiCorp, plans to increase flows below Iron Gate Dam to reduce the risk of disease for salmon in the Klamath River.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - On Tuesday, the Klamath Water Users Association held its annual meeting at the Klamath County Fairgrounds. Several hundred people attended the meeting which included dinner and social hour. The main focus of the event was on current water deliveries, the future of irrigation in the Klamath Basin, and an overall message of hope for basin farmers.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The federal government announced today that it will deprive highly fertile farms and ranches in the Klamath Basin of irrigation water necessary to produce food this year. The decision comes at a time of global food security fears, rapidly rising food prices, and concerns that grocery store shelves may become empty this year.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – The Bureau of Reclamation announced today, the initial Klamath Project water supply allocation in the third consecutive year of drought conditions. Coupled with the allocation announcement is the release of the Klamath Project 2022 Temporary Operating Procedures, which will guide operations for the 2022 water year.
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley this week urged the Bureau of Reclamation to invest in critical facility upgrades at Keno Dam on the Klamath River that would benefit irrigation, water quality, wildlife refuges, and salmon and steelhead fisheries.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - County Commissioners and Supervisors from Klamath, Modoc, and Siskiyou Counties are weighing in with the Bureau of Reclamation regarding the need for timely diversion of water to the Klamath Project this year in the interest of public health and safety.
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Today, the Oregon legislature approved $20 million in funding for critical needs in Klamath County caused by water curtailments and wildfire. “This is welcome news,” said Klamath County Commissioner Kelley Minty Morris, who was on point for local interests pursuing the funding. “We are grateful for this action, and for Governor Brown’s support for this desperately needed funding package.”
Read MoreKLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The Klamath Project Drought Response Agency (KPDRA) provided two Drought Relief Programs for Klamath Project Irrigators. The 2021 No-Irrigation Program funded by the US Bureau of Reclamation and the 2021 CARES Act Assistance Program funded by the US Department of Agriculture.
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