Klamath Drought -- OPB Think Out Loud

Friday May 14 radio discussion about the drought in the Klamath Basin and how it might impact farms, fish, and the historic Klamath Settlement Agreements

Governor Kulongoski recently declared a drought (pdf) in Klamath county and five neighboring counties. Thousands of farmers in the Klamath Basin depend on federally controlled irrigation canals that flow from Klamath lake to water their crops and support pasture for livestock. But water levels in Klamath Lake are low this year. And farmers will receive only about 30 percent of the surface water they usually get, to ensure that endangered suckerfish in the lake will also survive the drought.

Many farmers in the Klamath already took a financial hit last year, due to low crop prices and the recession. Some say that the assistance the federal and state government are offering during this drought isn’t enough to save them from bankruptcy.  Other people in the basin worry that a rush to dig wells and pump groundwater to make it through this growing season could have long term consequences.

And many people worry that the stress of this dry growing season will undermine support for the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, a compromise between farmers, tribes, and environmental groups over future water use in the basin.