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Dropping inflows led to project shutdown plan
Published June 27, 2003
By DYLAN DARLING
H&N Staff Writer
Last Thursday, Dave Sabo, manager of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Basin Area Office, knew something was wrong.
Net inflows into Upper Klamath Lake were plummeting.
On Friday he asked irrigators to cut their water use by almost a quarter. Over the weekend they did so, but it wasn't enough. The inflow was still going down, and Sabo knew water users would have to make further cuts.
By Tuesday it became clear that he was going to have to shut down the project to make sure that the water level of Upper Klamath Lake would meet the requirements of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's for protecting suckers in the lake.
"The more I looked at the numbers, the more I realized I had to shut the project down," he said.
Sabo called Reclamation officials in Washington, D.C. He had kept them posted last week, but wanted to tell them the magnitude of what was coming this week.
"I just told Washington this is what I have to do - this is my neck," he said.
The Bureau is required by the Endangered Species Act to comply with conservation measures set forth in a biological opinion, a document that outlines how much water needs to be keep in the lake for endangered suckers. If Sabo doesn't follow the guidelines of the biological opinion, he could be subject to sanction or even criminal prosecution.
The order to shut down the project came Wednesday just before noon. The day before, Sabo had called Bureau officials in Washington, D.C., to tell them what was going to happen.
Wednesday, before the announcement, Sabo had been in contact with Curtis Mullis, field supervisor of the Service's Klamath Falls office, in hopes of getting the Service to help find a way to keep the water flowing through the irrigation canals while meeting the biological opinion requirements.
What created the problem was a change in water year type by the Bureau on June 13. The classification of the water year went from "dry" to "below average."
The shift in water year types meant a change in lake level targets, resulting in 150,000 acre-feet more being set aside for sucker fish in the lake. It also meant less water for irrigators.
While Sabo met Wednesday with Mullis, another meeting was taking place between their superiors in Sacramento: Kirk Rodgers, director of the Bureau's Mid-Pacific Region Office, and Steve Thompson, operations manager for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Region official.
By Wednesday afternoon, it became clear that a compromise about the lake level could be found by taking the average of the requirements for a dry June and a below-average June.
So Sabo called off the shutdown of the Klamath Project.
Sabo said Wednesday's events should be a wake-up call about how important it is to watch lake levels in Upper Klamath Lake.
"Hopefully, this will be a signal to everyone," he said.
Reporter Dylan Darling covers natural resources. He can be reached at 885-4471, (800) 275-0982, or by e-mail at ddarling@heraldandnews.com.
By DYLAN DARLING
H&N Staff Writer
Last Thursday, Dave Sabo, manager of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Basin Area Office, knew something was wrong.
Net inflows into Upper Klamath Lake were plummeting.
On Friday he asked irrigators to cut their water use by almost a quarter. Over the weekend they did so, but it wasn't enough. The inflow was still going down, and Sabo knew water users would have to make further cuts.
By Tuesday it became clear that he was going to have to shut down the project to make sure that the water level of Upper Klamath Lake would meet the requirements of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's for protecting suckers in the lake.
"The more I looked at the numbers, the more I realized I had to shut the project down," he said.
Sabo called Reclamation officials in Washington, D.C. He had kept them posted last week, but wanted to tell them the magnitude of what was coming this week.
"I just told Washington this is what I have to do - this is my neck," he said.
The Bureau is required by the Endangered Species Act to comply with conservation measures set forth in a biological opinion, a document that outlines how much water needs to be keep in the lake for endangered suckers. If Sabo doesn't follow the guidelines of the biological opinion, he could be subject to sanction or even criminal prosecution.
The order to shut down the project came Wednesday just before noon. The day before, Sabo had called Bureau officials in Washington, D.C., to tell them what was going to happen.
Wednesday, before the announcement, Sabo had been in contact with Curtis Mullis, field supervisor of the Service's Klamath Falls office, in hopes of getting the Service to help find a way to keep the water flowing through the irrigation canals while meeting the biological opinion requirements.
What created the problem was a change in water year type by the Bureau on June 13. The classification of the water year went from "dry" to "below average."
The shift in water year types meant a change in lake level targets, resulting in 150,000 acre-feet more being set aside for sucker fish in the lake. It also meant less water for irrigators.
While Sabo met Wednesday with Mullis, another meeting was taking place between their superiors in Sacramento: Kirk Rodgers, director of the Bureau's Mid-Pacific Region Office, and Steve Thompson, operations manager for the Fish and Wildlife Service's Pacific Region official.
By Wednesday afternoon, it became clear that a compromise about the lake level could be found by taking the average of the requirements for a dry June and a below-average June.
So Sabo called off the shutdown of the Klamath Project.
Sabo said Wednesday's events should be a wake-up call about how important it is to watch lake levels in Upper Klamath Lake.
"Hopefully, this will be a signal to everyone," he said.
Reporter Dylan Darling covers natural resources. He can be reached at 885-4471, (800) 275-0982, or by e-mail at ddarling@heraldandnews.com.
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