Upper Klamath Water Issue

UPPER KLAMATH BASIN WATER ISSUES

The high desert, which occurs around Klamath along the Oregon-California border, seems like an unlikely place for a huge network of natural lakes, marshes, and rivers. This region is very dry, especially on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. The upper Klamath Basin receives as few as 12 inches of rain per year, making the basin more suitable for growing sagebrush and junipers than alfalfa and potatoes. Yet while rain is scarce, snow is abundant in the mountains.

Spring snowmelt, combined with water from underground springs, gives life to the rivers, streams, and lakes of the Klamath Basin. Historically, this water flows down from stream from the mountains pausing in a huge network of rivers, streams, shallow lakes, and marshes, which then spilled out of the Upper Klamath Lake forming the Klamath River before beginning to flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Conservationists have long dubbed the Klamath Basin the "Everglades of the West." The marshes and wetlands of the Klamath are important waterfowl nesting areas as well as the largest stopover for migrating waterfowl on the Pacific Flyway, sustaining millions of birds each year. Canada, white-fronted, snow and Ross' geese, and tundra swans, as well as dozens of species of ducks, white pelicans, grebes, cranes, herons, egrets and other water and shore birds pause here to rest, feed, or raise their young. The region also supports the largest population of wintering bald eagles in the lower 48 states.

The importance of the basin to migrating birds was recognized as early as 1908 when the federal government created the Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge in order to protect some of their vital habitat. Today six refuges dot the region.

Many types of wildlife for example river otters and elk depend on the basin's waters. Klamath fisheries are equally diverse. Immaculate tributaries in the upper parts of the basin provide bull trout, which is the last place of abundance in Oregon. In the upper basin, rivers like the Sprague, the Wood, the Sycan, and the Williamson offer outstanding fishing opportunities for rainbow, brown, and brook trout. There is also incredible scenery in these river stretches, and they are among Oregon's most beautiful and least known, fly fishing destinations. Sections of the Sprague and Sycan River are designated, Wild and Scenic Rivers.

Upper Klamath Lake is the center of much controversy over water in the basin. Surface-water quality problems within the basin include elevated metals and nutrients concentrations, low dissolved oxygen, excessive turbidity, bacteria, and high stream temperatures. Identified nutrient sources include geologic materials and agriculture. High temperatures are often caused in part or made worse by low flows.

It was shown that drained wetland areas might contribute significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus to Upper Klamath Lake. In addition, flowing wells adjacent to the lake have high nitrogen (up to 8.7 mg/L) and phosphorus (up to 7.3 mg/L) concentrations suggesting "total nutrient loading to Upper Klamath Lake from the discharge of ground water could be significant".

Ground-water quality problems exist also. Elevated fluoride and boron concentrations occur in ground water at some geothermal wells in the basin.

There is an increasing demand for a limited supply of water in the Klamath Basin. The increasing demand is not only due to the economic growth of the region, but to the growing demands for water for aquatic wildlife and other in-stream uses.

In 1988 two species endemic to Upper Klamath Lake, the Lost River Sucker and the Shortnose sucker, were listed as endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Changes in surface-water management necessary to protect these species have reduced the amount of surface-water available for diversion. Water supplies may be affected in the future by actions to mitigate the decline in populations of steelhead, Coho, and Chinook salmon in the Lower Klamath River. The Coho has been listed as threatened by the National Marine Fisheries Service. These issues of endangered species have also lead to many problems in the agricultural uses of the water, which may have reoccurring problems in the future depending on what people decide to do or what they see as more important.

In addition to issues involving the absolute amount of water available, there are issues involving the conjunctive use of ground water and surface water. The nature and degree of the connection between ground water and surface water is an issue in certain areas of the Klamath Basin in Oregon. Concerns center on the potential for depletion of flow in streams and tributary springs by ground water pumping. This issue will become more prominent as large-scale ground-water development is proposed to supplement or replace surface-water supplies.

Managing existing water supplies to fully satisfy all uses has proven difficult, particularly in dry years. Part of the solution may be to develop new sources of water. Ground water is likely being one such source.

The lake still keeps an exceptional rainbow trout fishery. The shallow lake is the largest body of fresh water in Oregon, and suffers some of the worst water pollution in the state. Besides the water quality problems, the fertile marshes and abundant insect life work together to produce some of the largest rainbow trout in North America. Fish weighing over ten pounds are not uncommon, and the distinctive conditions of the lake make them very challenging to take on fly tackle.

The lake is also the last healthy amount of the Lost River and Shortnose suckers, which are both federally protected endangered species. These fish are one of the important parts of the culture of the Klamath Tribes for centuries. These tribes hold treaty rights to fish for them in traditional ways. They were also once part of an important sport fishery, with "mullet season," which brought anglers in from all over Oregon. A fish cannery on the shores of the lake also once took advantage of their once abundant numbers.

After spilling out of Upper Klamath Lake, the Klamath River heads southwest, cutting diagonally through Oregon and Northern California on its way to the Pacific Ocean. The river also suffers from water quality problems. The river also suffers from chronic low flows during the summer months due to a number of reasons including a series of hydroelectric dams that block the migration of salmon in the river by preventing them from reaching the upper basin in Oregon.

Despite these problems, the river still flows through one of the wildest landscapes in the lower 48 states, and a section