[env-trinity] Drought and Flood in the Klamath basin

[Tom Stokely]

a.. Drought spurs water fight in the Klamath Basin
(NPR, 05/08) Audio. "The battle over water continues in the Klamath River Basin on the Oregon-California border. Another year of drought has been declared, which may spell more trouble for the region."


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4634915

Also,

Drought? Lake's nearly full and rising 
  Published Friday MAy 6, 2005 

  By TODD KEPPLE 
Klamath Falls Herald and News 

  The Klamath Basin may be in the grips of drought, but the timing of the recent rainy spell means the 
  Bureau of Reclamation will have to spill water from Upper Klamath Lake in case the wet trend 
  continues. 

  Bureau officials worked to conserve water for months during the recent mild winter, and had managed 
  to nearly fill Upper Klamath Lake when the weather turned decidedly wet last week. 

  Now there's no room to store the extra water coming in, said Cecil Lesley, chief of water operations for 
  the Klamath Reclamation Project. 

  Flows at Link River Dam were increased this week to 3,500 cubic feet per second, or more than five 
  times the amount of water that was being released last week. 

  PacifiCorp, which operates the Link River Dam under a contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, 
  issued an advisory Thursday that localized flooding around Upper Klamath Lake is possible if heavy 
  rains occur during the next few weeks while the lake is brimful. 

  People who have property alongside the lake may want to take precautionary measures, the company 
  said, particularly since the weather forecast calls for more rain over the coming weekend. 

  "PacifiCorp has been in consultation with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation about lake levels and 
  expected inflows," the company said in a statement Thursday. "The (Bureau of Reclamation) has taken 
  this information into consideration and directed (us) to increase flows at Link River Dam." 

  Releasing more water from Link River Dam will create space in Upper Klamath Lake to hold heavy 
  inflow that might result from rainstorms. 

  Upper Klamath Lake is considered to be full when the water level reaches 4,143.3 feet above sea level. 
  By early this week, the lake was within an inch of its maximum level. 

  In some places, that leaves only a few inches of dike to keep water from spilling onto low-lying property 
  beside the lake. 

  Officials are concerned about the possibility of strong winds affecting the lake level. A strong, sustained 
  wind can push water from one side of the lake toward the other, cause the surface elevation to vary by 
  several inches. 

  The prospect of the lake overtopping its banks comes less than two months after Gov. Ted Kulongoski 
  declared a drought emergency in Klamath County. 

  Kulongoski's drought declaration came in mid-March, when the Klamath Basin was suffering a 
  stubborn drought that left a mountain snowpack measuring about half of average. 

  The Bureau of Reclamation, hoping to conserve as much water as possible for the benefit of irrigators 
  and fish, took measures during the winter and early spring to curtail flows in the Klamath River and 
  hold water back in Upper Klamath Lake. 

  By late April, it appeared the lake would come close to filling. That's when the rains started coming, 
  swelling streams and rivers feeding into Upper Klamath Lake. 

  The Williamson River, for instance, was flowing at 1,310 cubic feet per second Thursday at a stream 
  gauging station near Chiloquin. That's still below average for this time of year, but much higher than 
  the 865 cfs flowing in the river only two weeks ago. 

  As a result, the remaining space in the lake filled quickly, and left no room to spare for any sudden 
  inflows that might result from new storms. 

  Releasing more water from Upper Klamath Lake will boost flows in the Klamath River, where fishery 
  interests have been concerned about low flows affecting runs of salmon, including the threatened coho. 

  The rains come as welcome relief for irrigators, Lesley said. But while the rains have been enough to 
  top off the lake, they haven't been enough to wipe out the effects of several dry months over the winter. 

  "The wet weather has slowed down the use of irrigation water, and we don't expect extensive irrigation 
  in the Project for probably another two weeks, which is well into our regular irrigation season," Lesley 
  said. 

  "However, we just received the first of May (streamflow) forecast, and it still calls for dry conditions, as 
  far as inflow to the lake is concerned." 

  Lesley said the rains have also brought very little relief to the Project's east side, where irrigators rely 
  on Clear Lake and Gerber Reservoir. 

  "Both of them have received minor amounts of water," Lesley said. "Clear Lake is still extremely dry, 
  and we've seen some increases in Gerber, but it still won't be a full supply." 

  Falls revealed: Here's how to see them 

  The falls for which Klamath Falls is named largely disappeared 85 years ago when the 
  California-Oregon Power Co. built a dam on Link River, the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake. 

  Remnants of the falls can still be seen, however, particularly in relatively wet years when Upper 
  Klamath Lake fills and extra water is released from the dam, as is the case this week. 

  To see the falls, take the Link River Trail from its southern trailhead, near the Favell Museum. Hike 
  slightly more than a half-mile up the trail, to the point where the north half of the trail is closed due to 
  construction work. 

  Several unmarked paths lead down to the river's edge. Thick brush and blackberry brambles can make 
  the going difficult. The north half of the trail is closed to keep the public away from the construction 
  zone where a new fish ladder was recently installed. 

  - By Todd Kepple 

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