Klamath Project

Last updated

The Klamath Project is a water-management project developed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to supply farmers with irrigation water and farmland in the Klamath Basin. The project also supplies water to the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. The project was one of the first to be developed by the Reclamation Service, which later became the Bureau of Reclamation.

Contents

The two main water supply sources for the project are Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River. The main bodies of water in the Klamath Project are Clear Lake Reservoir, Klamath River, Link River, Lost River, Lower Klamath Lake, Tule Lake, and Upper Klamath Lake. The project fills these reservoirs from the spring runoff, peaking generally in March and April, and keeps the runoff from flooding the historical marshes that are a large portion of the present farmland. There are also many minor streams in the area. Lost River historically drained into Tule Lake, an endorheic lake. The project now diverts excess Lost River water to the Klamath River, allowing portions of Tule Lake to be reclaimed.

Map of Klamath Project Klamath Project Mapic.jpg
Map of Klamath Project

Some 225,000 acres (91,000 ha) of rangeland have been transformed into active farmland through the Klamath Project. Of that total, 80,000 acres (32,000 ha) were recovered by draining a portion of Lower Klamath Lake, a shallow marsh straddling the Oregon-California border between the California towns of Dorris and Tulelake. Tule Lake was also reduced in size by diverting water from Lost River to the Klamath River. [1]

Farmers in the project raise barley, alfalfa hay, and other hay, oats, potatoes, and wheat. The Klamath Basin is on the Pacific Flyway and the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex is visited by migratory game birds every year.

The project can be distinguished the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project which is a set of hydro dams on the mainstem of the Klamath operated by for-profit energy company PacifiCorp. The Link River Dam belongs to both.

History

Klamath Project main canal, as depicted in the 1908 Report of the Oregon Conservation Commission. Klamath project main canal.jpg
Klamath Project main canal, as depicted in the 1908 Report of the Oregon Conservation Commission.

Construction began on the project in 1906 with the building of the main "A" Canal. Water was first made available May 22, 1907. The Clear Lake Dam was completed in 1910, the Lost River Diversion Dam and many of the distribution structures in 1912, and the Anderson-Rose Diversion Dam (formally Lower Lost River Diversion Dam) in 1921. The Malone Diversion Dam on Lost River was built in 1923 to divert water to Langell Valley.

A contract executed February 24, 1917, between the California-Oregon Power Company (now Pacific Power) and the United States authorized the company to construct the Link River Dam for the benefit of the project and for the company's use, and in particular extended to the water users of the Klamath Project certain preferential power rates. The dam was completed in 1921.

In more recent times, the Klamath Project has been the focus of nationwide controversy. The Lost River and Shortnose suckers were listed as endangered in 1988. This, as well as concerns for salmon runs, led to a cutoff of irrigation water to local farmers on April 6, 2001. After many protests by farmers and concerned citizens alike, the decision was reversed the next year. The impact of the salmon kill was detailed in the book Salmon is Everything. [2] A 2002 report by the National Research Council however, determined that the decision to stop delivery of irrigation water in 2001 was not scientifically justified and that the 2002 fish kill was caused by a combination of natural factors.

A massive die off of salmon occurred in 2002 due to low water and high temperatures in the lower reaches of the river during the salmon migration. Studies showed that drought conditions and low flow from the entire drainage were among the factors that caused a unique mix of conditions to allow a gill rot disease to attack the salmon population. [3]

The conflict in balancing the economic and ecological concerns of the region was the focus of the 2006 book River of Renewal: Myth and History in the Klamath Basin . [4] Today, there is still much antagonism between opposing sides on this issue. [5]

Engineering

Dams

Lost River Diversion Dam, completed 1912 Lost river diversion dam.jpg
Lost River Diversion Dam, completed 1912

The Klamath Project contains seven dams, [6] all of them on tributaries of the Klamath River itself. In chronological order of completion, they are:

Canals

There are over 717 miles (1,154 km) of canals, laterals and diversion channels in the Klamath Project. The canals transport irrigation water from Klamath Lake and the Klamath River, Clear Lake and the Lost River, and Tule Lake. There are two tunnels: the "A" Canal (the main canal that starts just above the Link River Dam) has an underground section as it flows through Klamath Falls, and the Tule Lake Tunnel.

There are almost 728 miles (1,172 km) of drainage canals in the Klamath Project which allow land that would otherwise be wetlands to be farmed. The Lower Klamath Lake was 80,000 acres (32,000 ha) before it was drained and would naturally evaporate about 240,000 acre-feet (300,000,000 m3) each summer. This is roughly equivalent to the annual delivery of the A canal.

Pumps

There are 28 pumping stations in the Klamath Project. These pumps have a total output of over 1937 ft³/s (55 m³/s).

Water management

The Bureau must consider water needs for threatened coho salmon in the river, and two species of endangered sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake. [7] In 2001, a court order withheld irrigation water from Klamath Project farmers, to comply with mandated river levels for the threatened Coho salmon and the endangered Lost River Sucker. [8] Downstream populations of Coho salmon are within the Southern Oregon/Northern California Evolutionary Significant Unit and are listed as threatened (2011). [9]

The 2010 Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) is a multi-party legal agreement determining river usage and water rights involving the Klamath River, the Klamath Project, and the Klamath Basin, within the states of California and Oregon. Among the more notable signatories to the agreement were the Governors of California and Oregon, and the Chairman of the Klamath Tribes.

As opposed to the government-owned irrigation dams of the Klamath Project on upper tributaries, the seven dams of the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project are operated by for-profit energy company PacifiCorp. The systems share one facility, the Link River Dam, which is owned by the United States Bureau of Reclamation but operated by PacifiCorp primarily to regulate its own downstream water supply, and secondarily for power generation.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derby Dam</span> United States historic place

Derby Dam is a diversion dam built from 1903 to 1905 on the Truckee River, located about 20 miles (32 km) east of Reno in Storey and Washoe counties in Nevada, United States. It diverts water into the Truckee Canal that would otherwise enter Pyramid Lake. The canal feeds Lake Lahontan reservoir in the Carson River watershed, where it is used for irrigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klamath River</span> River in Oregon and California, United States

The Klamath River flows 257 miles (414 km) through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second largest river in California after the Sacramento River. It drains an extensive watershed of almost 16,000 square miles (41,000 km2) that stretches from the arid country of south-central Oregon to the temperate rainforest of the Pacific coast. Unlike most rivers, the Klamath begins in the high desert and flows toward the mountains – carving its way through the rugged Cascade Range and Klamath Mountains before reaching the sea. The upper basin, today used for farming and ranching, once contained vast freshwater marshes that provided habitat for abundant wildlife, including millions of migratory birds. Most of the lower basin remains wild, with much of it designated wilderness. The watershed is known for this peculiar geography, and the Klamath has been called "a river upside down" by National Geographic magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Klamath Lake</span> Large lake in southern Oregon, United States

Upper Klamath Lake is a large, shallow freshwater lake east of the Cascade Range in south-central Oregon in the United States. The largest body of fresh water by surface area in Oregon, it is approximately 25 miles (40 km) long and 8 miles (13 km) wide and extends northwest from the city of Klamath Falls. It sits at an average elevation of 4,140 feet (1,260 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity River (California)</span> River in northern California

The Trinity River is a major river in northwestern California in the United States and is the principal tributary of the Klamath River. The Trinity flows for 165 miles (266 km) through the Klamath Mountains and Coast Ranges, with a watershed area of nearly 3,000 square miles (7,800 km2) in Trinity and Humboldt Counties. Designated a National Wild and Scenic River, along most of its course the Trinity flows swiftly through tight canyons and mountain meadows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lost River (California)</span> River in California and Oregon, United States

Lost River begins and ends in a closed basin in northern California and southern Oregon in the United States. The river, 60 miles (97 km) long, flows in an arc from Clear Lake Reservoir in Modoc County, California, through Klamath County, Oregon, to Tule Lake in Siskiyou County, California. About 46 mi (74 km) of Lost River are in Oregon, and 14 miles (23 km) are in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Basin Project</span> American irrigation project

The Columbia Basin Project in Central Washington, United States, is the irrigation network that the Grand Coulee Dam makes possible. It is the largest water reclamation project in the United States, supplying irrigation water to over 670,000 acres (2,700 km2) of the 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) large project area, all of which was originally intended to be supplied and is still classified irrigable and open for the possible enlargement of the system. Water pumped from the Columbia River is carried over 331 miles (533 km) of main canals, stored in a number of reservoirs, then fed into 1,339 miles (2,155 km) of lateral irrigation canals, and out into 3,500 miles (5,600 km) of drains and wasteways. The Grand Coulee Dam, powerplant, and various other parts of the CBP are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. There are three irrigation districts in the project area, which operate additional local facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinity Dam</span> Dam in Trinity County, California

Trinity Dam is an earthfill dam on the Trinity River located about 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Weaverville, California in the United States. The dam was completed in the early 1960s as part of the federal Central Valley Project to provide irrigation water to the arid San Joaquin Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Link River Dam</span> Dam in Klamath Falls, U.S.

The Link River Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Link River in the city of Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States. It was built in 1921 by the California Oregon Power Company (COPCO), the predecessor of PacifiCorp, which continues to operate the dam. The dam is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klamath Basin</span> Region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River

The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties in California. The 15,751-square-mile (40,790 km2) drainage basin is 35% in Oregon and 65% in California. In Oregon, the watershed typically lies east of the Cascade Range, while California contains most of the river's segment that passes through the mountains. In the Oregon-far northern California segment of the river, the watershed is semi-desert at lower elevations and dry alpine in the upper elevations. In the western part of the basin, in California, however, the climate is more of temperate rainforest, and the Trinity River watershed consists of a more typical alpine climate.

The Central Utah Project is a US federal water project that was authorized for construction under the Colorado River Storage Project Act of April 11, 1956, as a participating project. In general, the Central Utah Project develops a portion of Utah's share of the yield of the Colorado River, as set out in the Colorado River Compact of 1922.

Savage Rapids Dam was an approximately 39-foot-high (12 m), 500-foot-long (150 m) irrigation diversion dam spanning the mainstem of the Rogue River in Josephine County, Oregon. The dam was demolished and removed in 2009. From 1921 until the spring of 2009, the Savage Rapids Dam almost entirely functioned for irrigation purposes, and it did not provide any flood control, hydro-electric power, inland waterway, or other significant beneficial uses. It only provided very minor recreational or wildlife benefits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Butte Creek</span> River in Oregon, USA

Little Butte Creek is a 17-mile-long (27 km) tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. Its drainage basin consists of approximately 354 square miles (917 km2) of Jackson County and another 19 square miles (49 km2) of Klamath County. Its two forks, the North Fork and the South Fork, both begin high in the Cascade Range near Mount McLoughlin and Brown Mountain. They both flow generally west until they meet near Lake Creek. The main stem continues west, flowing through the communities of Brownsboro, Eagle Point, and White City, before finally emptying into the Rogue River about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Eagle Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klamath Diversion</span>

The Klamath Diversion was a federal water project proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the 1950s. It would have diverted the Klamath River in Northern California to the more arid central and southern parts of that state. It would relieve irrigation water demand and groundwater overdraft in the Central Valley and boost the water supply for Southern California. Through the latter it would allow for other Southwestern states—Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah—as well as Mexico to receive an increased share of the waters of the Colorado River.

The Klamath River is a river in southern Oregon and northern California in the United States. This article describes its course.

The Cascade Canal is a canal located in Klamath and Jackson counties, in the U.S. State of Oregon. It delivers water from Fourmile Lake in the Klamath River watershed over the Cascade Divide to Fish Lake in the Rogue River watershed. It diverts approximately 5,462 acre-feet (6,737,000 m3) annually into Fish Lake. About 33 percent of the water diverted from Fourmile Lake is lost or spilled on the way to Fish Lake.

The 2002 Klamath River fish kill occurred on the Klamath River in California in September 2002. According to the official estimate of mortality, about 34,000 fish died. Though some counts may estimate over 70,000 adult chinook salmon were killed when returning to the river to spawn, making it the largest salmon kill in the history of the Western United States. Besides the chinook salmon, other fish that perished include: steelhead, coho salmon, sculpins, speckled dace, and Klamath smallscale sucker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement</span> American multi-party legal agreement

The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) is an American multi-party legal agreement determining river usage and water rights involving the Klamath River and Klamath Basin in the states of California and Oregon. Discussion of the KBRA began in 2005. Congress failed to pass legislation that would implement the KBRA by the January 1, 2016 deadline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Bluff Diversion Dam</span> Dam in Tehama County, California

Red Bluff Diversion Dam is a disused irrigation diversion dam on the Sacramento River in Tehama County, California, United States, southeast of the city of Red Bluff. Until 2013, the dam provided irrigation water for two canals that serve 150,000 acres (61,000 ha) of farmland on the west side of the Sacramento Valley. The dam and canals are part of the Sacramento Canals Unit of the Central Valley Project, operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. In 2013, the dam was decommissioned and the river allowed to flow freely through the site in order to protect migrating fish. A pumping plant constructed a short distance upstream now supplies water to the canal system.

The Klamath River Hydroelectric Project is a series of hydroelectric dams and other facilities on the mainstem of the Klamath River, in a watershed on both sides of the California/Oregon border.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Un-Dam the Klamath</span>

Un-Dam the Klamath (#UnDamtheKlamath) is a social movement in the United States to remove the dams on the Klamath River primarily because they obstruct salmon, steelhead, and other species from accessing the upper basin which provides hundreds of miles of spawning habitat. The dams have also significantly harmed Hupa, Karuk, Klamath, and Yurok lifeways and communities. Copco #1, Copco #2, Iron Gate and J.C. Boyle are the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River that are being advocated for removal.

References

  1. Stene, Eric A. (1999). "Construction History of the Klamath Project". A River Never the Same Name. Klamath Falls, OR: Shaw Historical Library. p. 43. ISBN   0-9667919-1-6.
  2. May, Theresa (2014). Salmon is Everything. Corevallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. ISBN   978-0-87071-746-8.
  3. "Klamath River Fish Die-off September 2002". klamathwaterlib.oit.edu. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
  4. Coll Thrush (January 2008). "River of Renewal: Myth and History in the Klamath Basin". Environmental History. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
  5. "Opinion & Reviews - Wall Street Journal". www.opinionjournal.com.
  6. "Klamath Project". U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  7. "Yurok Tribe, fishing groups sue over water delivery to farms". NewsWatch 12 KDRV. Associated Press. April 1, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  8. "Water Conflicts and Crises," Archived October 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine The Oregon Story, Oregon Public Broadcasting.
  9. "Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Recovery Domain 5-Year Review: Summary and Evaluation of Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast Coho Salmon ESU" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations. 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2013.

Coordinates: 42°06′N121°36′W / 42.1°N 121.6°W / 42.1; -121.6