Water management of the Klamath River
Water management of the Klamath River involves navigating a complex interplay of ecological, agricultural, and energy needs in a region characterized by low rainfall and periodic drought. The river, which flows from south-central Oregon into northern California, is often referred to as an "upside-down river" due to its nutrient-rich origins in agricultural areas and its transition into a cleaner stream as it approaches the Pacific Ocean. This area is historically significant, supporting diverse wildlife and Native American communities long before modern development began.
The region has faced significant challenges since the mid-20th century, when the construction of hydroelectric dams, irrigation diversions, and agricultural runoff began to impact water quality and fish populations. Notable environmental concerns have emerged, particularly regarding endangered fish species such as native suckers and coho salmon, which have suffered from habitat degradation and competition from harmful algal blooms linked to agricultural practices. Efforts to reconcile the needs of farmers, fishers, Native American tribes, and recreational users have included discussions around water rights and dam removal.
In recent years, there has been progress in addressing these conflicts, including a tentative agreement in 2008 to remove four hydroelectric dams to help restore fish populations. As of 2023, the deconstruction of the first dam has commenced, marking a significant step toward potentially revitalizing the river's ecosystem while balancing competing interests in water management.
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Water management of the Klamath River
IDENTIFICATION: River that flows from south-central Oregon through northern California to the Pacific Ocean
The Klamath River and its tributaries epitomize the conflicting economic, social, and environmental considerations involved in water management in a region of low rainfall and periodic drought. The central question is how best to reconcile the preservation of endangered fish species with local agricultural needs and regional demand for hydroelectric power.
The Klamath River is sometimes dubbed an “upside-down river” because it originates in a shallow, highly eutrophic (overly nutrient-enriched) lake in an area of intensive agricultural development and ends up as a swift and apparently pristine stream. In prehistoric times the marshes surrounding Upper and Lower Klamath lakes supported a great wealth of wildlife and large populations of Native American hunters. Despite the dispersal of tribal lands in the twentieth century, many of their descendants still occupy the area.
Development of the Klamath River basin has been steady since the beginning of white settlement but increased dramatically during the 1950s and 1960s with construction of hydroelectric dams on the river and its tributaries, diversion of increasing amounts of water for irrigation, increases in agricultural runoff, and conversion of wetland wildlife to farmland. During this same period, logging and the manufacture of wood products, once mainstays of the local economy, declined in importance because of unsustainable logging practices on federal lands.
Environmental problems and conflicts surfaced during a drought in the 1990s after the US Bureau of Reclamation, which allocates water, proposed a water management plan that threatened two endangered species of suckers, fish native to Klamath Lake, with extinction and also threatened a distinct of coho salmon. Provisions of the Endangered Species Act effectively blocked irrigation, and the region experienced considerable economic damage.
Lake water levels and stream flow are not the only factors that have threatened fish populations in the Klamath River basin. Phosphates from agricultural have caused massive blooms of blue-green algae, depleting oxygen in the water and raising levels. Increased alkalinity and higher water temperatures were implicated in a 2002 fungal epidemic that killed off large numbers of salmon. In addition, logging and recreational development have compromised spawning streams, and hydroelectric dams have created serious barriers to salmon migration.
The results of an integrated study showed that any plan that could effectively restore endangered fish populations in the Klamath River would require the removal of several hydroelectric dams. In November, 2008, officials of PacifiCorp, the power company that operates the dams, reached a tentative nonbinding agreement on water rights with representatives of the region’s farmers, fishers, Native American tribes, and recreational users; the agreement, which called for the removal of four dams beginning in 2020. However, the deconstruction of the dams was delayed several times and was not begun until 2023. The first of the six dams, Copco 2, the smallest, was deconstructed in October 2023. In May 2024, construction crews broke ground on the deconstruction of Iron Gate, the largest of the dams, and JC Boyle.
Bibliography
Blake, Tupper Ansel. Balancing Water: Restoring the Klamath Basin. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Committee on Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin. Hydrology, Ecology, and Fishes of the Klamath River Basin. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 2008.
James, Ian. "Klamath River Dams Drained, and Watershed Restoration Begins." The Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2024, www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-03-24/klamath-river-restoration. Accessed 19 July 2024.
Most, Stephen. River of Renewal: Myth and History in the Klamath Basin. Portland: Oregon Historical Society Press, 2006.
Neumann, Erik. "Klamath River Water Improving, According to California Water Board." Oregon Public Broadcasting, 25 May 2024, www.opb.org/article/2024/05/25/klamath-river-water-improving-california-water-board/. Accessed 19 July 2024.