Reclamation Calls for Flow Increase To Avert Repeat of ’02 Fish Kill
Anticipating a near-record number of returning adult Chinook salmon this fall, federal offi cials are calling for additional water to be released to the lower Klamath River in late summer.
The Bureau of Reclamation says the action is needed to prevent a repeat of
the 2002 fi sh kill on the river in which tens of thousands of salmon perished in the river due to disease and warm water temperature. The water would come from Trinity Reservoir. The main Trinity River is the largest tributary of the Klamath. Meanwhile, Native American tribes in the region are upset by the State Water Resources Control Board’s July 17 decision to postpone the relicensing process for four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath. The dams, owned by Pacifi Corp, have been slated for removal in 2020 under the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) and the company doesn’t believe the costly relicensing process is necessary. “We’re not going to carry out relicensing steps that would add a bunch of additional costs,” Pacifi Corp spokesman Bob Gravely told the Associated Press July 20.
The company is collecting money from its ratepayers to pursue dam re- moval but if no dam removal occurs, the money could be used to pay for fi sh ladders to allow for fi sh passage. Pacifi Corp is also implementing some
Whe e We Are August 8
Region 6 Afterschool Conference Stanislaus County Offi ce of Education Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator Modesto, CA
August 28 Northern California Water Education Committee
Contra Costa Water District Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator Concord, CA
September 29 Project WET – San Juan Teacher’s Association
Nimbus Fish Hatchery
Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator Gold River, CA
October 17-19 Water Education Foundation Northern California Tour
Rebecca Scott, tour coordinator Sacramento, CA
Trinity Dam
interim measures to improve the river as part of the deal they signed, according to Matthew Baun, a spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Yreka. Achieving peace on the Klamath remains a conceptual idea as the varied interests and congress struggle to determine a plan that balances the different water needs. The KHSA stipulates that three key conditions must fi rst be met before a “Secretarial Declaration” can be made – a clear and accurate description of the costs, benefi ts and liabilities associated with dam removal, identifi cation by Oregon and California of a source for fi nancing their share of the dam removal costs and congressional authorization of a Secretarial Determination. The KHSA indicated that a decision would be made by March 31, 2012; however that decision also depends on congressional authority to make that decision. In 2011 Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, introduced the Klamath Basin Economic Restoration Act that would authorize implementation of the KHSA and the related Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement and enable federal policy to assist implementation of the agreements while setting a plan for dam removal. The bill has not moved. As for the water for fi sh, Reclamation says it would operate Lewiston Reservoir to target a minimum fl ow in the lower Klamath River of 3,200 cubic feet per second from Aug. 15 to Sept. 21. In their comments on the proposal, the board of supervisors for Siskiyou County wrote that “it does not appear that there has been suffi cient consideration as to whether this action may be detrimental to other populations of Chinook and Coho,” and that the increased fl ows into the Klamath River may “create migration cues resulting in fi sh moving into the Klamath River and its tributaries at times when temperature and fl ow conditions are marginal or even lethal.” ❖ – Gary Pitzer
July/August 2012
October 18-20 California Science Teacher’s Conference San Jose Convention Center Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator San Jose, CA
October 25
35th Anniversary Celebration Water Education Foundation Sacramento, CA
October 27 Project WET Workshop
California Science Project Inland Northern Brian Brown, California Project WET coordinator
Whiskeytown NRA, CA
November 8-9 Water Education Foundation San Joaquin River Restoration Tour Rebecca Scott, tour director Fresno, CA