The Agriculture Department has designated Klamath County as a “primary natural disaster area” because of drought conditions.

The offices of Senators Wyden and Merkley made the announcement this morning.

It means that farmers and ranchers in the area will be eligible for low interest emergency loans. It also extends disaster assistance to farmers and ranchers in Deschutes, Douglas, Jackson, Lake, and Lane counties in Oregon as well as Modoc and Siskiyou counties in California.

Because of the drought, the feds say irrigators can only expect about 30% – 40% of the amount of water they normally receive from Klamath basin reservoirs this year. Local water authorities will be able to pump extra water from underground sources, but that still only brings the supply to about 50% of normal. Farmers will also be paid for idling land.

The Copco 1 Dam on the Klamath River. Photo courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

When government and tribal leaders gathered in Salem earlier this year to sign the Klamath basin agreements, the talk was all about dam removal. ”Hasta la vista to the dams,” said California’s Governor Schwarzenegger.

But what Schwarzenegger, Governor Kulongoski and the others glossed over is that there is no agreement to remove dams on the Klamath River. There’s only an agreement to study the issue. A decision is a couple of years away.

And now we’re seeing what could be the first attempt to take advantage of that loophole.

According to the Siskiyou Daily, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors in California are now interested in seeing if fish passages could be built around the dams – instead of removing them. The paper says the Shasta Nation has been studying using existing creeks as part of a system to help fish migrate past the dams.

See Siskiyou Daily: Fish bypass alternative analysis underway

By the way, Siskiyou County is one of the governmental groups that signed the Klamath Hydroelectric Agreement.

It’s way too early to know how far this will go. But you can’t blame environmental critics for saying, “We told you so.” Sean Stevens of Oregon Wild said back in February that this is only one of the loopholes that could wreck the agreement. Here’s a clip from our interview with him.

Video: Oregon Wild’s Sean Stevens On Dam Removal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8MoyBAaNI0

Related Stories:

Klamath Hangover – Why Oregon Enviros Oppose The Deals
VIDEO: Highlights From Klamath Basin Signing Ceremony
“Hasta La Vista” Dams: Deals Signed To End Klamath Basin Water Wars

NOTE: Thanks to the Pacific Fishery Management Council for tweeting the original story.

See Klamath Falls Herald and News: The economics of drought

The Keep Nestle Out Of The Gorge campaign kicked off Monday with a friendly little reminder from Mother Nature on what this is all about.

It rained.

You see, as far as anti-Nestle organizers are concerned this debate is all about water – who gets to control it, and how it’s used.

Nestle wants to build a $50 million water bottling plant at Cascade Locks in the Columbia River Gorge. Plans including drawing about 100 million gallons of spring water every year from nearby Oxbow Springs. But that water belongs to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife which uses it for a fish hatchery.

And this is where the whole thing gets a little complicated. Nestle wants ODFW to transfer some of its rights to Oxbow Springs water to the city of Cascade Locks. Then Nestle buys the water from the city. In exchange, Cascade Locks gives back to ODFW an equal amount of water from the city’s wells. ODFW just started testing the well water to see if it will work as a substitute. The test should take about a year.

But the Keep Out Nestle coalition hopes ODFW will say no, regardless of how the tests turn out. At today’s event, they handed over a petition with the names of 4,000 Oregonians who oppose the transfer of water rights.

In the first video, you’ll hear just some of the reasons why the coalition is opposed. They’re concerned that letting Nestle draw all that water from Oxbow Springs won’t be good for the hatchery and will be harmful to wild fish. Some of the coalition are opposed to giving a private company control over a public resource such as water. There’s also an anti-Nestle attitude. The company is accused of exploiting small towns in economic trouble. Plus, bottled water is coming under increasing criticism from environmental groups who think it’s a huge waste of resources when tap water is just as good and a lot cheaper.

In the second video, you’ll hear Julia DeGraw of Food and Water Watch answer my question about the economic impact of the Nestle plant. I asked her what she’d say to residents of Cascade Locks, who suffer some of the highest unemployment in the state. Plans for a casino in town are being strongly opposed, and now so is the Nestle plant.  That prompted a very interesting conversation with a commissioner from the Port of Cascade Locks. More on that after the videos.

Video: Keep Nestle Out Of The Gorge Kick-Off

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tALVnMd2bNs

Video: The economic impact of the Nestle plant

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnleJrnP9CU

Afterwards, I had a good talk with a member of the Port of Cascade Locks Commission. Jess Groves didn’t want to talk with me on camera, but he did do an interview with OPB.

Among the issues he talked about, will the Nestle plant take too much water from the area? Groves says it won’t. He says even if the plant is built, and the casino is built, the town’s water supply will only be running at about half its capacity. “Water is an abundance,” in Cascade Locks he told us, saying the area gets about 85 inches of rain a year.

Groves also says Nestle is doing a good job of addressing the concerns of residents. That includes the noise from trucks hauling out the bottled water from the plant. He says Nestle has agreed to re-route the trucks away from the busy parts of town.

Related Stories:

• ‘Keep Nestle Out Of The Gorge’ Campaign Kicks Off Monday

For starters, the company proposing the plant is Nestle, the international conglomerate that’s controversial for how it promotes breast feeding formula in Third World countries. Next, the water Nestle wants to bottle is from pristine Oxbow Springs, the same water ODFW uses for a fish hatchery.

After working quietly behind the scenes for several months, the “Keep Nestle Out Of The Gorge” campaign recently launched a Facebook page and plans a big event for Monday, March 29.

That’s when organizers plan a visit to ODFW offices in Clackamas. They’ll deliver a petition, signed by 4,000 people, opposing the Nestle bottling plant. The group will also hold a press conference.

Earlier I spoke with Julia DeGraw, Northwest Organizer for Food and Water Watch. Her objections to the plant include:

• The environmental impacts of bottled water. Pouring water into bottles and shipping it in trucks seems like a waste of resources when there’s plenty of clean water to be had from the faucet. Plastic bottles are also a long-term litter problem if they’re not recycled.
• A philosophy that says water belongs to the public and allowing private companies to turn it into a commodity is not a good idea. The idea of someone making profits from a public resource doesn’t sit well with her. “We really believe water is a basic right,” says DeGraw. “We want to keep water in public hands.”
• Impacts on wildlife. The water from Oxbow Springs currently feeds into Herman Creek, a refuge for threatened wild steelhead. ODFW also uses some of the water for a salmon and steelhead hatchery. If ODFW hands over the water to Nestle, it will have to find another source to replace it.

It’s that last point that’s proving to be tricky. What Nestle is proposing is that ODFW hand over water rights to Oxbow Springs to the city of Cascade Locks. The city sells the water to Nestle who then bottles it.

In exchange, Cascade Locks gives ODFW water from the city’s well system. ODFW will spend the rest of the year testing the wells to see if it meets the standards necessary for a hatchery. An preliminary test last fall didn’t turn out well. Water from a test well was pumped into a pond filled with rainbow trout fry. But a malfunctioning valve introduced water that had been treated with chlorine, and all the fish died.

When the group delivers the petition on Monday, it will ask ODFW to decide against the water swap plan.

What Nestle has going for it on this issue the economic impact the plant will have in Cascade Locks. The small town in the Gorge has some of the highest unemployment in the state. Nestle says the $50 million plant will use about 100 million gallons of water annually, creating about 50 jobs. According to an article in the Oregon, it will double the city’s tax base.

For more information:

Facebook: Help Food & Water Watch Keep Nestlé Out of the Gorge
Bark: Nestle Bottling Plant Proposed for Columbia Gorge
Nestle: Nestle Waters Pacific Northwest

Sunrise at Fern Ridge Reservoir, one of three expected to fill up this spring. Photo by Bob Heims, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

With Willamette Valley snow pack way below average, and no extra rain in the forecast, the Army Corps of Engineers says most of the reservoirs it operates in the valley won’t fill up this spring.

We’re not anywhere near drought conditions. But the dry forecast means the Corps will have a tougher job managing how much water it releases and when. Releasing too much water now means there won’t be enough for salmon and other fish in the fall.

And boaters are sure to notice a difference.

Here’s where things stand, according to the Corps.

Willamette Valley snow pack is 40% of normal for this time of year. But snow pack is not a big factor, it only accounts for about 10% of the water in the reservoirs.

The main concern is over how much rain we’ll get this spring. Rain during April, May and early June is the primary source of water that fills these reservoirs. The information that the Corps is getting says spring and summer rainfall will be only 75% of normal.

That’s not so bad that it’s setting off alarms. But it does mean the Corps has started reducing water flows from reservoirs in the North and South Santiam basins. It may also have to reduce flows in other parts of the Willamette Valley. Corps spokesperson Amy Echols says these reduced flows are “less than ideal” for fish and water quality. But the Corps wants to make sure it has enough water stored to maintain good flows in the summer and fall.

Of the 13 Willamette Valley reservoirs operated by the Corps, only three of them are expected to fill up. They are Fern Ridge near Eugene, and the Cottage Grove and Dorena reservoirs near Cottage Grove.

“If you’re a boat owner or marina owner, you won’t like this year,” says Echols. She says levels in some reservoirs may be so low that some boat ramps won’t reach the water. Marinas may have to compensate by installing longer ramps. Anglers and other river users may notice lower water levels, too.

Still, Echols says, we’ve seen much drier years in recent history. 2001 and 2005 come to mind.

All of this could turn quickly with some good spring rains.  The Corps plans to update this information in early May.

Governor Kulongoski was in the region this morning for a meeting with area officials about what needs to be done now to prepare.

Senators Wyden and Merkley added to the urgency with a letter to federal officials warning of a “crisis of historic magnitude”, and asking the feds to take immediate action.

Numbers released today the Oregon Water Resources Department paint a bleak picture.

• Snowpack in the Basin is at 71% of average
• The elevation of Upper Klamath Lake is 4,140 feet, the lowest level in 33-years of record keeping. The amount of water stored in the lake is 62% of normal for this time of year – with no relief in sight. The Natural Resources Conservation Service predicts the inflow of water into the Upper Klamath will be about one-third shy of normal from April through September.
• The city of Klamath Falls is already nearly an inch and-a-half short on rainfall, and the year has just barely begun.

In 2002, tens of thousands of salmon died in the Klamath River after the Bush Administration decided to give farmers priority over fish and wildlife. Photo from WaterWatch.

The region is faced with the very real possibility that there simply isn’t enough water in the system for endangered salmon, sucker fish, wildlife refuges, and the farmers who use it for irrigation.

The Wyden-Merkley letter notes that Upper Klamath Lake is already two feet below the minimum required for endangered fish. The letter goes on to say, “There is very little chance Klamath irrigators will receive needed irrigation either on time, or at all.”  Kulongoski is asking the feds to be as flexible as possible with the water supply, without placing endangered species in jeopardy.

What Happens Now?

At the state level, the Water Resources Department is getting ready to issue emergency drought permits that allow irrigators to start using groundwater sources such as wells. But drought wells only cover about 20% of farmland in the basin. The permits also allow for emergency transfers of water from one parcel of land to another. The state Agriculture Department is preparing to give farmers and ranchers technical advice.

If a drought is declared, it would have to start with a request from Klamath County officials.

At the federal level, Wyden and Merkley outlined several actions in the letter they say might provide some relief. They are asking the departments of Agriculture, Interior and Commerce to take the following steps, at a minimum.

• Provide money to buy upstream water rights from willing sellers.
• Adjusting surface water management within parameters of the law and sound science.
• Releasing emergency funds for land idling through water banks or other programs.
• Activating emergency drought wells or other means of accessing groundwater.
• Establishing drought assistance for all farmers regardless of crop type.

This year may serve as the first test for the just signed Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. While the agreement still needs to be ratified by Congress, environmental groups are watching to see if officials live up to their promises of making sure there’s enough water for salmon and sucker fish.

Along the Willamette River Water Trail. Photo from Oregon Parks and Recreation.

If we’re ever going to restore the Willamette River basin, it’s going to cost a huge chunk of money.

Anywhere from about $593 million to $1.2 billion, according to Oregon DEQ.

In a new report, DEQ says decades of farming, logging and urban development have degraded the basins streams and rivers.

DEQ put together this report for the EPA, which collects information on how much it would cost to meet the nation’s water quality goals.

Here’s what DEQ found:

• About 96,000 acres may need restoring. Most of them, about 70%, are agricultural lands. But it also includes land inside urban growth boundaries.
• The money would need to be spent on removing land from agriculture and restoring it as habitat along streams and rivers. It also includes protecting waterways with fencing and improving in-stream habitat. A good portion of the money, maybe as high as 30%, would be used to pay rent to landowners so that state officials could have access to do the restoration work.
• The biggest problems include water temperatures that are too warm and too much sediment in the rivers and streams. Restoring the basin could eventually lower heat pollution by about 12.9 billion kilocalories daily. (A kilocalorie is the amount of energy it takes to heat one gram of water by one degree Celsius.) Planting shade trees along streams and rivers are an important part of cooling the water.

For more information:

Cost Estimate to Restore Riparian Forest Buffers and Improve Stream Habitat in the Willamette Basin, Oregon

Groups such as Oregon Wild and Water Watch, say they were kicked out of the talks that produced the two historic deals on Klamath Basin water sharing and dam removal. National groups such as American Rivers and Trout Unlimited did sign on.

Earlier this week, we talked with Sean Stevens of Oregon Wild about his group’s objections. He calls this a billion dollar boondoggle that doesn’t do enough to protect Klamath Basin salmon.

Video: Water Sharing

The Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, or KBRA, governs how water in the region will be shared by farmers, tribes, and salmon. Stevens says the KRBA guarantees water to farmers first. There may not be enough leftover for salmon during droughts and dry years when water supplies are low.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8LZjnUFDhg

Video: Farming On The Wildlife Refuges

The two deals allow for another 50-years of farming on the Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuges. Stevens calls this a bad idea. It limits how much land is available for wetlands – important habitat for salmon and other wildlife. It also means farmers get a greater share of the water in the basin. Finally, he says pesticide runoff from agriculture only hurts water quality in the refuges.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj97LrHNaOI

Video: Dam Removal

The Klamath Basin Hydroelectric Agreement lays out a plan for removing four hydropower dams from the Klamath River. This will open up more than 300 miles of river to salmon. Oregon Wild is a big supporter of removing the dams.

But Stevens says it was a mistake to link the two agreements together. He says this has created a billion dollar boondoggle for irrigators. Much of the estimated billion dollar cost in the KRBA, says Stevens, is for irrigation subsidies, and there’s not enough in there for doing actual restoration work in the basin.

Besides, the dam removal agreement doesn’t guarantee the dams will come out. It says the Interior Secretary first has to decide if removing dams is a good idea. That process could last a couple of years. While it appears that dam removal is likely, Stevens says there are other ways this deal could fall apart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8MoyBAaNI0

The room was filled with smiles, applause and some humor courtesy of Governor Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger joked it was finally time to say, “Hasta la vista to the dams.” The crowd ate it up.

The two deals signed today are designed to end the decades long battles over water, salmon and dam in the Klamath Basin. One deal, called the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement lays out a plan to share water between farmers, towns and tribes, while still trying to leave enough left over for salmon.

The other deal, called the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement, sets into a motion a plan to remove four dams along the Klamath River. The dams are owned by Pacific Power. If they are demolished, it would free up another 300 miles of the river for salmon.

As Governor Kulongoski noted, “The two agreements we sign today do not completely address this decades old conflict. Everyone involved in today’s agreement knows there’s still much more work to be done.”

That works includes finding at least a billion and a half dollars to finance the two agreements. Oregon has already committed $200 million to dam removal. California is supposed to come up with another $250 million, part of an $11 billion dollar water bond measure that goes before state’s voters in November.

And where’s the rest of the money going to come from? That’s the billion dollar question hanging over these deals. At the ceremony, Kulongoski seemed sure of the Obama Administration’s commitment to coming up with the money. But Congress will have the final say on that.

The other loophole – there’s no guarantee the dams will be demolished. The hydroelectric agreement gives Interior Secretary Salazar a couple of years to study the issue, and then decide if removing the dams are a good idea.

But considering the difficulty of bringing together farmers, fishermen, tribes, government agencies and conservation groups into a single cause, today’s focus was on the possible.

“This agreement brings together dozens of groups that for years and years have stood toe to toe,” said Schwarzenegger. “But now they stand side by side united in this cause.”

“I can see the salmon fishes screaming ‘I’ll be back.’” he added. And again, the crowd ate it up.