A Brief History of the Klamath Irrigation District
and the Klamath Reclamation Project
Information compiled by Gene Souza - Executive Director of Klamath Irrigation District
Ancient Lake Modoc
The chronicles of the Klamath Irrigation District (and the Klamath Project) begin with the legacy of ancient Lake Modoc. Samuel and Emily Dicken's study of ancient Lake Modoc describes the formation of the complex geography across the Klamath Basin. The formation of the area created the conditions for water to be entrapped between layers of lava flows, for vast water bodies to be covered with volcanic ash thus creating a fossil record while simultaneously forming numerous impervious layers of chalk rock covered by yonna soils. The effects of the eruption of Mount Mazama (which formed the area now known as Crater Lake) over 7,000 years ago, and the numerous fault lines constantly change the landscape. Ancient Lake Modoc (about the size of Maryland) once covered every acre currently irrigated by the Klamath Project.
Pluvial Lake Modoc
Ancient Lake Modoc outlined as described by Samuel Dicken in Oregon Geology Volume 42, Number 11
"The old pluvial lake...consisted of several connected arms with an overall length of 75 miles. The southern end was in [what is now known as] California, south of Tule Lake; the northern end was near Fort Klamath...at maximum extent, the 400 miles of shoreline was at the nearly uniform elevation of 4,240 feet above sea level (about 100 feet higher than the elevation of Upper Klamath Lake today and nearly 200 feet above some of the farmlands in Tule Lake)...Eight major basins are included in the bed of the old lake. The largest are Upper Klamath, Lower Klamath, and Tule Lakes; the smaller basins called valleys, are Spring Lake, Poe, Swan Lake, Yonna, and Langell Valleys. At the present time, only Upper Klamath Lake has a large body of water, the largest [continuous surface area] in Oregon." (Samuel Dicken, 1980) Reclamation engineers and members of the United States Geological Survey speculate the primary evacuation of water from ancient Lake Modoc originally occurred towards the Pit River prior to a series of lava flows from the Medicine Lake complex of volcanos. Evidence that water eroded a channel into the natural Keno Reef, allowing water to escape through a new route to the Pacific Ocean appears to have occurred around the time the Medicine Lake volcanic activity cut off the natural flow to the Pit River, redirecting the flow into the Klamath River canyon.
Interactive Ancient Lake Modoc Map
"Perhaps 10,000 years ago the climate gradually settled into its present semi-arid, fluctuating, and unpredictable state, and Lake Modoc began to shrink." (Samuel Dicken, 1980) This change, coupled with the erosion of the natural basalt reef near Keno, Oregon, lowered the elevation of Lake Modoc, thereby creating a series of isolated lakes which initially earned the area the title of "Lake County" by early settlers (read more in Klamath Echoes Volume 1). In the 1870s, much of the lands currently irrigated were covered in water for 10 months or more every year.
Klamath/San Joaquin/Sacramento Hydroclimatic Reconstructions from Tree Rings
"Ancient Lake Modoc left a legacy for the people of the Basin; for the [natives] who lived for many centuries along the river banks and lake shores; and for the thousands of [emigrants (some of them refugees) who left other countries to pursue the American dream] who have [settled] the site for a little more than a century. " (Dicken and Dicken 1985)
David M. Meko, Connie A. Woodhouse, and Ramzi Touchan revisited a 1937 study by F.P Keen on historical precipitation in the Klamath. These 1000-year studies clearly show routine dry periods in the Klamath precipitation cycle. Each bar on the graph shows a recurring dry period that occurred in the Klamath Basin, and at times interacting with the weather patterns of the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds.
Both Klamath Falls and Klamath Keno reconstruction shows a dry-run of 21-years below the median in the mid-1600s; routine extended dry periods exceeding 5 years every 87-96 years with notable dry conditions in 1840s and 1930s which can be matched with written records. (Meko, Woodhouse, Ramzi, 2014) This cycle can be seen as recurring in the 2020s.
Anders Tomlinson highlights some key events across the Klamath Basin at the link below.
In the historical record, the waters of the Klamath were never reported as clear. The earliest records of surveyors to the Klamath Basin indicate the waters of the Upper Klamath Lake’s water quality were so poor the horses and dogs would not partake, even in the warm conditions. During an expedition to the region in the early 1840’s John C. Fremont would not allow horses to drink from Klamath Lake at Rattlesnake Point because of the foul water quality (Fremont, 1845). In the Journal of George Gibbs, while with the Indian Treaty group of Colonel Redick McKee in October 1851, he recorded that the Klamath River water quality was so bad in the autumn that one should seek out creeks for fresh water. Gibbs further records that the water was “tepid and unfit for use.”
On 14 August 1855, Lieutenant Henry L. Abbot, leading an exploration party to survey a line for a proposed railroad running north from the Sacramento River to the Columbia River commented the “dark color” and “disagreeable taste” of the waters of Klamath Lake. Abbott’s team camped in the vicinity of Cove Point for a few days. His report goes on to state, “the taste of the water was so disagreeable that several vain attempts were made to discover a spring in the vicinity….a wide field of tule prevented approach to the water…the water taken from the lake had a dark color and a disagreeable taste, occasioned apparently by the decayed tule.”
Before dams, another name for the Klamath was Stinking River. Stretches of the upper Klamath would often go underground in the summer, leaving the aquatic life to rot in the sun. The upper Klamath is also naturally poor habitat for salmon and steelhead, as it starts out warm and rich in phosphorus in the marshes and volcanic rock of south-central Oregon. Phosphorus feeds algae and makes for low-oxygen conditions that are bad for salmon. Jim Waddell, of the Karuk Tribe, recalls late members of his family stating, “The Klamath River was not of good quality, especially in the fall. It had times of the people shoving rotting salmon back into the river to get rid of the stink!” (Read Jim Waddell's letter)
The “impurities” of Upper Klamath Lake’s water became the focus of a 1905 controversy in Klamath Falls regarding possible “disease laden ice.” One Klamath Falls citizen commented “there is no pure ice in Klamath county … the waters of the lake are not fit to drink …” while another held that “the ice on the Upper [Klamath] Lake runs a chance of being infected with the flotsam and jetsam of that great body of water. A great many fish of the sucker species die and float into the waters of the lake, which give a chance for impurity.” (Causes and Effects of Nutrient Conditions in the Upper Klamath River)
“Dick” Breitenstein (born 1878) records that as a teen, he “used to work on the Ankeny ditch (established 1878 as an early irrigation ditch cut along Link River, through Linkville, and then along the area now known as “A” Canal in 1884) shoveling muck” from the lake out of the canal. Indicating the source of water from Upper Klamath Lake was not pristine. (Klamath Echoes Volume 1, Pages 28-29)
Judge U.E. Reeder (sometime between 1895 and 1905) reports, “We always tried to haul lumber to the Lower Lake in the spring when the water was running through the Straits into Lower Klamath Lake. And in the fall, we hauled hay [north] through the Straits into the [Klamath] river, when the water was draining out of the Lower Lake.” This indicates, late summer/fall water, in very shallow conditions of Lower Klamath Lake and marshes, heated by the hot summer sun, with significant evaporation, was flowing heated water into the Klamath River at the Keno Cut while minimal to no water from Upper Klamath Lake was making its way past Keno. (Klamath Echoes Volume 2, Page 18)
In 1908, A.T. Sweet and I.G. McBeth of the U.S. Reclamation Service reported, “The water in this lake is quite shallow, but a deep deposit of floating sludge and black muck lies below it. This sludge is often piled in spots by the movements of wind and water, obstructing navigation. The principal source of water for this group of lakes is Upper Klamath Lake, through Link River. The outlet is Klamath River, which flows through the upper part of the basin, then turns west through a narrow pass in the mountains near Keno. At the entrance to this pass a basaltic obstruction has prevented the lowering of the river bed, and resulted in this chain of lakes and wide area of marshy land. A wide channel several miles in length passes southward from the river, supplying the lower lakes and swamps. During seasons of heavy rainfall or during the long dry summers, the Klamath River flows southward through these straits, but at certain seasons when the river [water flowing out of Upper Klamath Lake] begins to fall this channel carries considerable water northward from the lower lakes into the Klamath River, thus presenting the anomaly of a river flowing in one direction during a portion of the year and in the opposite direction at other times.” Again, evidence that the temperature of the water exiting the Klamath Basin has historically been high and an abundance of water remained in the Basin prior to the Project lowering the Keno Cut.
Rykbost et al., 1999, Rykbost and Charlton, 2000, Rykbost and Charlton 2001 “demonstrates natural background phosphorus sources are partially responsible for phosphorus loading in drainage waters from agricultural properties adjacent to Upper Klamath Lake. Water applied to properties at the southern end of Upper Klamath Lake to recharge soil profiles comes out of Klamath Lake with a high nutrient load. Nutrient concentrations in numerous springs and artesian wells are also reported, indicating high natural phosphorus loading in aquifers in the Wood River Valley. Major springs feeding tributaries to Upper Klamath Lake contain sufficient phosphorus to support algal blooms in the absence of anthropogenic contributions, as evidenced by the eutrophic condition of Upper Klamath Lake pre-dating settlement of the region.”
While phosphorus and other nutrient loading may be poor for some species, this quality makes it a rich resource for agriculture. Applying phosphorus and algae rich waters to crops reduces the need to apply fertilizer and other chemicals.
Wild Horses have been eating dried blue-green algae (Microcystis aeruginosa) at Iron Gate Lake for decades without any ill-effects. Iron Gate Lake is one of two large fresh water lakes (the other is Copco Lake) that are located on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, CA.
Reclamation Act 1902
Irrigation of agricultural lands in the area now comprising the Klamath Reclamation Project was initiated in 1878 with the construction of an irrigation ditch known as the Ankeny Canal. Further development of irrigation from White Lake by the Van Brimmer Brothers and Frank Adams began in 1882. Private interests further developed irrigation projects by constructing the Adams Canal in 1886; the Adams Canal supplied irrigation water from White Lake to the Carr Ranch on the east side of Tule (Rhett) Lake. The Ankeny Canal was expanded in 1884 and again in 1888, which allowed water to be diverted from Link River to the Lower Klamath Valley. By 1903, approximately 21,000 acres were irrigated by private interests.
The National Reclamation Act, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902, made the expansion of agriculture in the Upper Klamath Basin possible by authorizing the reclamation of swamps and lakes to increase irrigable acreage.
Section 8 of the Reclamation Act
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting or intended to affect or to in any way interfere with the laws of any State or Territory relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of water used in irrigation, or any vested right acquired thereunder, and the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the provisions of this Act, shall proceed in conformity with such laws, and nothing herein shall in any way affect any right of any State or of the Federal Government or of any landowner, appropriator, or user of water in, to, or from any interstate stream or the waters thereof. (June 17, 1902, ch. 1093, § 8, 32 Stat. 390.)
In 1903, the Reclamation Service made investigations into the Klamath Basin which led to the first withdrawal of land by the Secretary of the Interior in 1904 for developing a Federal irrigation project. Early in 1905, California and Oregon, with support from the newly formed Klamath Water Users Association and by popular vote, ceded certain rights in Upper and Lower Klamath Lakes and Tule Lake to the United States. On 1 May 1905, a board of Reclamation Service engineers made a report that served as the basis for the authorization.
Klamath Lakes pre-1905
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Emigration Trails and Tales bring New Peoples to the Klamath Basin
The development of the West and the Klamath Reclamation Project is largely attributable to explorers who accompanied Lewis and Clark, Peter Skeene Ogden, John Charles Fremont, Lindsey Applegate, Lieutenants R.S. Williamson and Henry L. Abbot whose reports ignited the flow of emigrants moving west on the Oregon Trail, Applegate Trail, California Trail, and Yreka Trail. The emigrants who found their way to the Klamath Valley brought with them cattle, horses, engineering experience, and agricultural skills. With them journals and oral histories were created, such as the account at this link...and in the photographs above.
The Applegate Trail was the forerunner to the settlement of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Several members of the 1846 exploring party liked what they saw, later returning to settle in the Klamath Country. Most of the emigrants after 1851 settled either in Scott and Shasta Valleys of Northern California, or the Rogue and Umpqua Valleys of Southwestern Oregon. Many of their descendants filtered back across the Cascades and Sierras to become the first pioneers east of the mountains.
Klamath Echoes #9 discusses the Applegate Trail and the people who settled in this area in detail.
While emigrants crossed the Applegate trail, some observed the native Modoc peoples. The Modoc peoples depended on the lakes and marshes in the area of the Klamath Reclamation Project for subsistence. Modoc villages were observed on the shores of Lower Klamath Lake, Tule Lake, Lost River, and Clear Lake. Three major Modoc “divisions” were observed at the time of emigrant contact: a group extending from Lower Klamath Lake to the western shore of Tule Lake totaling eight winter villages; a group of five winter villages centered on the mouth of the Lost River; and a group of 12 winter villages on the eastern shore of Tule Lake, the upper Lost River, Clear Lake, and the western shore of Goose Lake. Between 400-600 total Modocs lived in the area prior to the Applegate Trail. (Information extracted from Central Washington University)
Upon tribal leaders signing a treaty with the United States in 1864, Modoc peoples who did not integrate with emigrant populations were relocated to the Klamath Reservation. This situation was not optimal for the Modoc peoples who were treated as second class citizens by the Klamath peoples. Not finding the conditions acceptable and the Federal government deaf to their pleas, a group of 50 Modoc men and their families returned to their homeland in 1872. This resulted in the Modoc War with the United States and the native peoples forcibly returned to the Klamath reservation. Four of the Modoc leaders were executed by the United States for their actions to seek independence from misguided federal policy.
The geologic formation of this area created a number of areas where water was able to be captured in low spots between the ranges created by the fault line activity. In fact, the area contained so many of these natural water bodies, the people of the time voted to call the area "Lake County". On 24 October 1874, Lake County was established, encompassing the entire area now known as Klamath with Linkville as its county seat.
With a growing population, Klamath County separated from Lake County on 17 October 1882 at which time Linkville was retained as the county seat.
Klamath Echoes #1 discuss to formation of Klamath County and the settlement of the area.
Initial survey studies for the Klamath Irrigation Project provide the fact that water did not flow unobstructed from Upper Klamath Lake into the canyon southwest of the town of Keno prior to Klamath Irrigation Project development. Flow into the Link River was naturally constrained by two basalt-lava reefs; one at the mouth of the Link River holding the waters of the lake naturally around 4,137.8 feet above mean sea level and the other just below the inlet to the Klamath Irrigation Project A Canal Headworks with a shallow bay in between these two reefs.
The 7 October 1921 photograph above shows the construction in progress to lower the reef to 4,131 to facilitate hydropower development in the Klamath River. The reef, and some rocks of the reef measured at 4,137.8 are clearly visible and match the contour of the sketch provided by J.C. Boyle. A similar photo was taken on 30 September 1921.
J.C. Boyle's sketch in the photograph link above provides the contours of the natural reef and the shows the area lowered in October of 1921.
By 1915, after the low water year of 1908 and 1911, the California Oregon Power Company (COPCO) "realized that unless the United States carried out its plan of regulating Upper Klamath Lake, the river would often, if not regularly, be extremely low during the summer months." By February 1917, the government and COPCO agreed to allow COPCO to regulate the elevation of Upper Klamath Lake to facilitate hydropower development downriver. Previously the government had contemplated the need to regulate and control the elevation of Upper Klamath Lake; however, it was unneeded at the time COPCO began this endeavor.
J.C. Boyle's 50 Years on the Klamath Provides greater detail on the development of hydropower on the Klamath River. A copy of the book is in the K.I.D. vault and available for purchase through the Journal of the Shaw Historical Library Volume 1.
Klamath Irrigation District opposed the private development of the Link River Dam. Read the 1924 Report of Investigation on the Klamath Project by Stoutemyer and Dent.
Jim Spindor writes, the “Klamath and Modoc tradition tells that the locality where Link River “blew dry”, was created by their principal deity, Kmukamtch. Environmental conditions would often leave its bottom dry or almost dry, and enable the people to catch fish swimming in the shallow water or wriggling in the mud.”
Prior to 1919, the Link River routinely would quit flowing in late July and August. Historical records indicate the native Klamath name for the river was “Yulalona”, meaning receding and returning water, which matches with photographic and written evidence demonstrating little to no flow of water from Upper Klamath Lake occurred in low-precipitation years. For this to occur, the water in Upper Klamath Lake had to have been below 4,1387.8 either from evaporation or a strong southern wind. Modern observations indicate the strongest wind from the south, after several days of blowing, only reduces the elevation at the head of the Link River by 1.3 feet.
Since 1919, this dry cycle has never recurred and water has continuously flowed through the Link River, augmenting the Klamath River below Keno in the driest of years when no water would be naturally available. The construction of the Link River Dam allowed for controlled storage of water, keeping back some of the waters that would have flown into Lower Klamath Lake or the Lost River Slough. Farmers of the Klamath Project currently pay 100% of the operations and maintenance for the controlled storage of water in Upper Klamath Lake created by Link River Dam.
Before 1890, the Lost River Slough naturally evacuated water awayfrom the Klamath River, sometimes flowing at 1,200 cubic feet per second (538,597 gallons per minute) for “significant” periods. All of this water is now restored to the Klamath River Basin and not lost to the Tule Lake sump thus enhancing flows in the Klamath River above natural conditions. See https://www.usbr.gov/mp/kbao/programs/docs/undepleted-klam-fnl-rpt.pdf on 10 June 2021. pg. 50 for further details.
The maps drawn between 1889 and 1905 show the same general area across a fairly wide tact that would become covered with water prior to the slough being dyked off from the Klamath River in 1890. There are no records of the Lost River flooding its banks in the slough area, with its banks in excess of 25 feet deep.
The Lost River Diversion Channel is a man made feature built in 1912 in conjunction with the Wilson (Horseshoe) Dam to evacuate water away from the Lost River into the Klamath River to facilitate reclamation of Tule Lake for agricultural development. The Lost River Diversion Channel intersects both the Lost River and the Klamath River at points above the natural slough, and is generally filled on both sides of the channel (no cut as the channel is built above the naturally low area).
7
Snow Goose Reef
In the Klamath River’s natural state, natural barriers such as the Snow Goose and Keno Reefs, slowed the flow of the waters in the Upper Klamath Basin, redirecting the waters from Upper Klamath Lake into marshlands, lakes, and other wetlands above Keno. These natural barriers and wetlands allowed sediment, natural pollutants, and nutrients to settle into the lakebeds behind the barriers creating fertile soils rich in biomass. Filters such as Lower Klamath Lake removed a great deal of the natural nutrients from the waters prior to the water flowing naturally over the Keno Reef at a higher temperature.
Another basalt reef near Keno, Oregon naturally held the water level in the Upper Klamath Basin. In 1906, the remaining reef was measured at 4,084 feet above mean sea level utilizing Reclamation datum for the Klamath Basin. See the I.S. Voorhees. 1912. History of the Klamath Project. Pg.131 Note in the 1889 map shown here, Lower Klamath Lake was measured as 9' below the natural sill of the Keno Reef.
“The natural condition of Lower Klamath Lake…was a complex of marshes and open water….Water surface elevations in Lower Klamath Lake and upstream along the channel of the Klamath River to Lake Ewana were controlled by a natural basalt reef at Keno. This reef held water levels in the lower lake and upstream along the channel to an elevation of about 4,084.” Read more in the Undepleted Natural Flow of the Upper Klamath River. A Summary Report. Pg. 2.
“In wet periods Klamath River began at Keno; in dry periods it began at Klamath Falls, 20 miles upstream…The channel was dredged from U.S. Highway 97 to Keno and a control dam constructed at Keno to regulate the Klamath River level” after the additional water from Lost River was added and the natural overflow to Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake was diked off" See Dicken, Samuel N. and Emily F. Dicken. 1985. The Legacy of Ancient Lake Modoc: A Historical Geography of the Klamath Lakes Basin Oregon and California. P. 1-12.
Joseph Jacobs, an engineer with the U.S. Reclamation Service states in 1906, “To reclaim Lower Klamath Lake by draining it into Klamath River. In order to accomplish this it is necessary that the water in Klamath River be low enough, to give a fair grade to the Lost River Drainage Channel, the water surfaces at whose head is at elevation 4,091 [feet above sea level utilizing Reclamation datum] and, also to afford drainage for Lower Klamath Lake whose bottom elevation is about 4079. At Keno there [was] a natural reef which crosses the channel which holds the water level, even at low water, to over 4,084’ [later revised to 4,084.8’] thus rendering it impossible to drain Lower Klamath Lake.”
In 1908, A.T. Sweet described the narrow pass in the mountains near Keno, the Klamath River as obstructed by a natural basaltic dam and significant biomatter, preventing the lowering of the Klamath riverbed, and resulted in a chain of lakes and wide areas of marshy land in excess of 88,300 acres known as the Lower Klamath Lake. “A wide channel several miles in length passes southward from the river, supplying the lower lakes and swamps. During seasons of heavy rainfall or during the long dry summers, the Klamath River flows [primarily] southward through these straights [away from the reef at Keno], but at certain seasons, when the river begins to fall, this channel carries considerable water northward from the lower lakes into the Klamath River, thus presenting the anomaly of a river flowing in one direction during a portion of the year, and in the opposite direction at other times.”[7] This water in the shallow Lower Klamath Lake moving northward in the “long dry summers” had dropped its sentiment load, increased significantly in temperature, and carried “significant biomatter” back into the Klamath River channel above the Keno reef.
Sweet and McBeth further identifies that a “decrease in regional rainfall, and a wearing away of the barrier in the Klamath River at Keno, [Lower Klamath Lake] has become much shallower [than in pre-historic records], enabling the growth of tules to cover more than three-fifths of the former lake surface” creating “lake ooze” with considerable quantities of black alkali which interfered with crops on reclaimed lands. An examination of this natural flow, LiDAR data, and historical records indicates natural waters covered most of the Klamath Basin currently used as farmland.
Initial development of the Keno cut began in May 1911 with 200 feet of the natural reef being opened up as recorded by Reclamation Engineer I.S. Vorheese. This geomorphic change facilitated the rapid decrease to the Lower Klamath Lake level, allowing more water to pass during the period Hardy et al (2006) utilize as their foundation for their flow model.
J.C. Boyle records, in 1919, the increased flows from Lost River Diversion Channel into the Klamath River created serious problems along the Klamath River between Klamath Falls and Keno. “The Klamath River meandered around through swamp and overflowed [about 15,000 acres of] lands for about 20 miles” due to the dikes built to confine the Klamath River waters away from Lower Klamath Lake. Under natural conditions, water would first fill the Lower Klamath Lake (an area in excess of 88,300 acres) to an elevation of 4,084.8 feet above mean sea level prior to any waters from Upper Klamath Basin entering the Klamath River below Keno. Hardy et al (2006) fails to acknowledge the loss of water to evaporation on the Lower Klamath Lake, fails to account for the increased flows from the Lost River Diversion Channel, and admittedly dismisses the loss of water to the Tule Lake sink basin despite Abney (1964) observation that a single high flow event raised the 98,000 acre Tule Lake by over 20 feet in 1890. This was not a random event as “John C. Cleghorn studied changes in the level of Tule Lake from old shorelines, terraces, and early topographic surveys. He found that in 1858 the level was 4,045 feet above sea level. A few years later the level had risen 15 feet…in 1871 Tule Lake was recorded as high, ten feet over the [natural] Stone Bridge (normal depth over the bridge one to two feet.”
“On December 26, 1908, consulting engineer J.H. Quinton rendered to the Director, a report on the Klamath Irrigation Project, the major portion of which was devoted to estimates for the Reclamation of the marshlands. This report has been considered almost the nature of a classic…’One of the most complex problems to be solved by the Reclamation Engineers is found in the Klamath Irrigation Project. This project contains an irrigation problem, a drainage problem, an evaporation problem, and a run-off problem, any one of which is difficult in itself, but all of which taken together form a most perplexing whole. In nearly all Reclamation projects, water has to be conserved. In this project, there is more than enough, and the question of disposing of it becomes an important one.”
The Bureau of Reclamation's natural flow study from 2003 estimates the annual evaporation from the former Lower Klamath Lake was 188,000 acre feet (41,708,982,656 gallons) of water between the Link River and the natural reef at Keno before the development of the Klamath Irrigation Project. Other scientists in 1903, 1905, and 1908 estimated much more evaporation, sometimes as much as 5 acre-feet of water per acre annually. At 88,300 surface acres, that equates to 441,500 acre feet of water that would have naturally evaporated in very warm, dry years; never available to the Klamath River below Keno.
Lower Klamath Lake fluctuated with the natural flow of Klamath River. When the Klamath River was high, water flowed from the Klamath River into to the lake (and Lost River Slough). During drier periods, the flow of the water was reversed, water from the Lake would return back into the Klamath River Channel. The Klamath River was the major source of water for the lake.
In the 1889 map, Lower Klamath Lake was measured depicted much lower than the 1905 Reclamation map. As the Keno Reef sill regulating the Klamath River was measured at 4,184', and no body of water is seen connected in the 1889 map, one must assume the conditions of the lake were very low. Note the significant amount of marshland created by an estimated 9 feet of unfilled storage. These facts indicate that when measurements for this map were taken, little to no water was flowing over the natural Keno Reef into the Klamath River canyon below Keno as the water was not high enough to allow for spill over the natural Keno Reef.
The elevation of the Klamath River was regulated by a basalt rock reef below Keno; as early as 1906, a portion of this reef was lowered by dredging and, as a result, the northern part of Lower Klamath Lake became exposed as dry land. The Southern Pacific Railroad built a fill across the lake bed which effectively cut the Klamath River off from the lake, except for a small opening controlled by a gate. Only the southern part of the lake remained undrained and became part of the Nation's first wildlife refuge.
The Lower Klamath Lake was drained under the authorities of Oregon and California with Congressional approval. All of this water is now available to the Klamath River system for beneficial use on the former lakes within the Project to include the National Wildlife Refuges in the area.
In 1846, J.C. Freemont named this body of water as "Rhett Lake" in honor of one of his associates. By 1895 the body of water was more commonly referred to as Tule Lake.
In its natural condition, Tule Lake was the termination point of the Lost River, forming a naturally closed basin that was augmented when the Klamath River would overflow through the Lost River Slough. The lake’s size varied between 100,000 acres during periods with higher precipitation and contracting to roughly half that area in drier times. At the Project’s inception, water levels in Tule Lake were at an elevation of approximately 4,060 feet above sea level covering over 96,000 acres.
"In the 1820s, the shoreline of Tule Lake lay about three miles from the future site of Merrill. The Applegate Trail of 1846- 1862 passed through the northeastern basin floor from Bloody Point to the Natural Bridge on the Lost River. Conversely, snowy winters beginning in 1889 helped raise Tule Lake until it lay about a mile from Merrill." (Central Washington University)
In 1890, local landowners designed and constructed infrastructure to prevent the Klamath River from evacuating water towards the Tule (Rhett) Lake sump in an effort to control flooding and begin rerouting water away from the Lost River sink-basin and into the Klamath River.
The development of the Lost River Diversion Channel in 1912 was designed to divert water from the Lost River Basin into the Klamath River Basin as part of the Klamath Irrigation Project. This modification now provides on average an enhancement of 146,770 acre feet (47,825,213,940 gallons) of water to the Klamath River Basin when the Klamath Project operates as designed.
Irrigation Training and Research Center. May 2003. Page iv. Referenced in the On-Project Plan TM 5. January 2013. Surface Water Flow Path for the On-Project Plan Area.
Agriculture began in the Tule Lake Basin with the influx of emigrants in the 1840s and grew rapidly after 1873.
By 1883, the Van Brimmer Brothers and Frank Adams had put under irrigation approximately 5,000 acres of land on the west side of the Lost River through a channel constructed from Lower Klamath Lake. Frank Adams later expanded the infrastructure to divert water from Lower Klamath Lake to the Carr Ranch on the east side of Tule Lake.
Agricultural development was spurred by the growth of Linkville (Klamath Falls) and subsequent wagon, railroad, and automobile traffic. By the late 1870s and 1880s, high quality cattle were being raised on Carr Land and Livestock Company lands in the Tule Lake Basin. In fact, Durham bulls of this herd were confined to The Peninsula in Tule Lake (Turner, 2002). The first attempts at irrigated agriculture using Lost River waters occurred in the Langell Valley upstream of the Tule Lake Basin in 1868. (Turner, 1988)
Early irrigated agriculture efforts along the lower Lost River was impeded by the lack of river and floodplain gradient, and by nearby impassable ridges. Recognizing the difficulties of irrigating with Lost River water, the Van Brimmer Canal carried water from White Lake and Lower Klamath Lake to farmlands west and south of the Lost River (Figure 6.3) (Clark and Miller, 1999; Turner, 2002). Soon after, a flume system was constructed to take water from the Van Brimmer Canal to the east side of the Lost River Valley. Later efforts succeeded in strengthening the connection between White Lake and Lower Klamath Lake in an effort to provide more irrigation water to the lower Lost River Valley. By 1904, the Little Klamath Irrigation Ditch Company had an agreement to provide water for more than 10,000 acres in the Tule Lake Basin (Turner, 2002). (As extracted from Central Washington University)
Klamath Echoes #7 further expands on these early efforts to irrigate the fertile lands.
The Ankeny-Henley Canal was established in 1878 (now known as the A Canal), the South Branch Canal (established as an extension of the Ankeny-Henley Canal in 1884 and now known as the upper portion of the C Canal carried water to over 16,000 acres the Klamath Valley. The East Branch Canal (established as an extension to the Ankeny Canal in 1888 is now known as the B Canal.
In 1908, Sweet and McBeth surveyed the Klamath Basin water supply, soils, and topography and prominently noted, “the water supply is abundant.”Between 1882 and 1985 Klamath Irrigation District has no record of Project irrigation water deliveries negatively impacting Federal Trust with area native peoples, contracts, or agreements, nor posing any negative environmental impacts.
Klamath Water Users Association
Klamath Irrigation District’s predecessor organization, the Klamath Water Users Association, was formed from members of the U.S. Irrigation Committee, representing future water users of the Klamath Project. The committee met on 25 February 1905 to draw up articles of incorporation for the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA).
The Association was incorporated on 4 March 1905 under the laws of the State of Oregon for the purpose of entering into a contract with the United States for the acquisition of the existing irrigation infrastructure and construction of the Klamath Project. KWUA incorporated with a capital stock of $2,000,000 to invest in the Project development.
A link to select extractions from the Klamath Water Users Association minutes, to include its Organization, Articles of Incorporation, and By Laws can be reviewed at the link below. The By Laws of the Klamath Water Users Association, Article I, Section 1. states, "The territory within which the lands to be irrigated are situated to be known as the Klamath Irrigation District; includes all lands within the boundaries described" within Klamath, Modoc, and Siskiyou Counties which may be included in the Government Reclamation Project.
The founders of the Association consisted of elected officials Nathan Smith Merrill, Jacob Rueck, Orson Avery Sterns, Pleasant L. Fountain, W.F. Hill, Horatio Hill Burnham, Elmer Ivan Applegate, Thos. D. Pryor, William C. Dalton, and R.L. Oliver with J. Scott Taylor as its secretary. By 10 October 1905, Jerome P. Churchill was named the President of the Klamath Water Users Association and Elmer I. Applegate its Secretary; B.S. (Bac) Grigsby and M.F. Orr were listed as additional directors by 3 November 1905.
Founding Klamath Water Users Association Director Nathan Smith Merrill
Nathan Smith Merrill - Original founder. "Uncle Nathan" moved the present townsite of Merrill in 1890. Merrill bought a ranch in the spring of 1894 and laid out part of the town, which was named for him. He was identified at various times with many development projects, and little was done for the Merrill valley that was not due in part to his efforts. He was a prominent member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows having been one of the signers of the charter of the Merrill lodge. Klamath Echoes #7 focuses on the impacts or Merrill on the Basin.
Orson Avery Sterns
Founding Klamath Water Users Association Director Orsen Avery Sterns
Orson Avery Sterns (Original Director from 1905-1906) - emigrant of 1853 over the Applegate Trail; soldier in the Oregon Volunteers of 1863-1867 at Fort Klamath: one of the first homesteaders in the Klamath Basin establishing a 417-acre ranch and farm just outside of Linkville in 1867 where he raised livestock and operated a dairy; and historical writer of many important events which occurred in the Klamath Country prior to 1909 when the first Klamath Pioneer Society was formed. Served as a justice of the peace and legislator for Lake County. Namesake of Sterns Elementary School on Crest Street. As found in the Klamath Echoes #15 and author of this letter referencing the Klamath Reclamation Project.
Founding Klamath Water Users Association Director Pleasant Luther Fountain at his desk
Original Klamath Water Users Association Director Elmer Ivan Applegate
Elmer Ivan Applegate (First Secretary from 1905-1908) - an important early Oregon botanist best known for his monograph of trout lilies (Erythronium) and for his role in organizing the Klamath Irrigation District. He was born near Ashland, March 31, 1867, of pioneer stock; he was the grandson of Lindsey Applegate, wagon train leader and trail blazer in the "Great Migration" of 1843. The eldest of six children, Elmer was two when the family moved to the Brookside Ranch in the Upper Swan Lake Valley east of Klamath Falls. As found in the Oregon Encyclopedia.
Klamath Water Users Association Director B.S. Bac Grigsby in his youth and later in life
Abel Ady (Director and President of KWUA 1910-1915). The Ady Canal is named for Mr. Ady as he owned a large tract of swamp land on Lower Klamath Lake / Klamath Straits. Ady came to Klamath County in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake where Mrs. Ady took over the operation of Teeter's landing where the stage stopped to allow travelers to continue their journey to Klamath Falls on boat. Read more about the Ady's in the Klamath County Historical Societies Trumpeter. A more detailed biography of Abel Ady is anticipated to be published in the September 2023
Abel Ady in his boat "Wocus II" on Lower Klamath Lake
Albert Eugene Elder (Secretary of KWUA 1909-1917). Elder graduated from the law department of Ames College. He enlisted in the Army when the Spanish war broke out, and served thru a strenuous campaign in the Philippines. On his return he practiced law for a short time in Iowa, and then came to Pendleton. He was elected secretary of the Klamath Water Users Association in 1910, which position he held for seven years. On resigning this position he acted as attorney for the organization and for the Klamath Irrigation District. Mr. Elder was a respected member of the Masonic Lodge and of the Knights of Pythias.
Jerome P. Churchill (Director between 1905-1906) - an investor in power activities and White City. In 1910 John Christie Boyle (1887-1979), born in Ft. Jones, in Siskiyou County was hired by the Churchills immediately after his graduation from the engineering department at the University of California, Berkeley. First hired as a field surveyor on the Copco No. 1/Ward’s Canyon project, by 1916 he was in charge of its construction. As found in KLAMATH HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT and Klamath Echoes #15.
William Carson Dalton (Director 1905-1908) - son of a Tennessee farmer, and nephew to Jesse D. Carr. Dalton traveled to California where he worked as a surveyor, the foreman of the Ruddle Ranch, and then taking over management of the Carr Ranch in 1900. Dalton assisted settlers, established reservoirs on Bryant Mountain to irrigate potatoes, and managed the termination point of the Adams Canal from Lower Klamath Lake to the Carr Ranch. The Klamath County Historical Society provides greater detail on Jesse D. Carr and W.C. Dalton here.
Klamath Water Users Association Secretary 1918-1928 A.L. Wishard
In March of 1906 the bylaws were amended so that Directors were assigned by voting districts.
First District: Langell Valley. Second District: Yonna Valley. Third District: Poe Valley. Fourth District: Klamath Falls, Klamath Valley north of Wilson Bridge (near the current Horseshoe Dam). Fifth District: Stukel District including Klamath Valley south of Wilson Bridge. Sixth District: Merrill District. Seventh District: Keno District. Eighth District: Lower Klamath District. Ninth District: At Large
In subsequent years the by-laws were further amended to adjust the zone representation. These amendments can be found in the extracts from the KWUA minutes at the button below.
1906: Elmer I. Applegate, Jerome P. Churchill, P.L. Fountain, B.S. Grigsby, W.F. Hill, M.F Orr, Jacob Rueck, O.A. Stearns (President), and G.K Van Riper. Elmer Applegate (Secretary)
1907: E.R.C. Williams, D.R. Driscoll, Jacob Rueck, H.T. Anderson, W.C. Dalton, J.Frank Adams, O.A. Stearns, J.G. Stevenson, and by a vote-off for leadership, Alex Martin Jr (President). Elmer Applegate (Secretary)
The memorial marker placed at the Malin Community Park describes Adams as "Master of horses and man, Conqueror of deserts, Protector of the poor, and pardonable egotist." His ownership of a large dredge allowed investments throughout the Upper Klamath Basin.
1908: E.R.C. Williams (Langell Valley), John Irwin (Poe Valley and Bonanza), Jacob Rueck (Yonna Valley), H.T. Anderson (Merrill), O.A. Sterns (Merrill), J.G. Stevenson (Spring Lake), Alex Martin Jr. (Klamath Falls) , W.C. Dalton (California), and Jas Dixon (At Large).
1909: N.C. Gunn, John Irwin (President), William Welch, C.A. Bunting, F.H. Downing, J.G. Stevenson, S.T. Summers, C.G. Merrill. Albert E. Elder (Secretary)
1910: S.T. Sommers (1st District - Klamath Falls and Keno), John Irwin (Vice President) (2nd District Poe Valley and Lost River), C.A. Bunting and C.G. Merrill (3rd District Merrill and California), Burt Hawkins (4th District Easterly Marsh), Abel Ady (5th District Westerly Marsh), J.R. Dixon (6th District - At Large) Albert E. Elder (Secretary)
1911-1913: Abel Ady (President), J.R. Dixon (1st District), John Irwin (2nd District) C.A. Bunting and C.G. Merrill (3rd District), Abel Ady (4th District at-large). Albert E. Elder (Secretary)
1914: Abel Ady (President), J.R. Dixon, John Irwin, J.G. Swan, and C.A. Bunting. Albert E. Elder (Secretary) Note: (November 1914 vote for President Ady to "readjust the board of directors" supported by Burrell Short, Thos. Roberts, W.M. Black, A Johns, J.W. Smith. B. Terry, and H.G. Fairclo).
1915: Abel Ady (President), John Irwin, C.A. Bunting, F.L. Pope and J.R. Dixon. Albert E. Elder (Secretary)
1916-1917: C.A. Bunting (President), J.B. Griffith (Vice President), A.L. Marshall, F.L. Pope, and R.E. Bradbury. Albert E. Elder (Secretary)
The Secretary of the Interior authorized development of the project on 15 May 1905, under provisions of the Reclamation Act of 1902 (32 Stat. 388). Reclamation's authority was further expanded by Congress with the Warren Act on 21 February 1911.
Klamath Reclamation Project Service Area with Irrigation Districts on the 1905 Planning Map
Klamath Reclamation Project Service Area
On 17 May 1905, Reclamation Service filed notice of intent to utilize ALL water of the Klamath Basin for the Klamath Project[2] with initial plans to irrigate 236,400 acres.[3] The General Laws of Oregon subsequently provided authorization for the bed of the Upper Klamath Lake as storage of water for irrigation operations and reclamation.[4] Upon execution of Reclamations 1905 contract with the Klamath Water Users Association, “each landowner desiring to receive water through Project facilities entered into a “Water-Right Application For Lands In Private Ownership” with the Department of the Interior”[5] which has been captured by the State of Oregon on some parcel deeds. Other lands serviced by the District were granted water-right through the subsequent Homestead Act.
In 1906, upon entering into contract with the residents of the Klamath Basin through the Klamath Water Users Association, the newly established Reclamation Service initiated the Klamath Project to drain lakes and wetlands for cultivation. The Klamath Project included a network of dams, canals, ditches, and other facilities to drain, move, and store Upper Basin water. Tule Lake became a sump one quarter of its former size. To carry out this large-scale experiment in hydrological engineering, California and Oregon had to cede their rights and title to Tule Lake, Lower Klamath Lake, and the surrounding land.
Construction began on the project in 1906 with the restructuring of the main `A` (Ankeny) Canal. Water was made available from this modified structure 22 May 1907 to the lands now known as the Main Division. This initial construction was followed by the completion of Clear Lake Dam in 1910, the Lost River Diversion Dam, Diversion Channel, and many of the distribution structures in 1912, and the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam in 1921. (In 1970, a public dedication at the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam officially changed the name of the structure to Anderson-Rose Diversion Dam.)
The Malone Diversion Dam on Lost River was built in 1923 to divert water to Langell Valley.
The Gerber Dam on Miller Creek was completed in 1925;
the Miller Diversion Dam was built in 1924 to divert water released from Gerber Dam.
A contract executed 24 February 1917, between the California-Oregon Power Company (now the Pacific Power and Light Company) and the United States authorized the company to construct Link River Dam for the benefit of the project first, and then for the company`s use. This agreement extended to the water users of the Klamath Project certain preferential power rates. The dam was completed in 1921. The contract was amended and further extended for a 50-year period on April 16, 1956 and expired in 2006. Farmers and Ranchers of the Klamath Project are now paying 100% of the operation and maintenance cost of the Link River Dam.
In November 1917, Oregon passed a law to allow for irrigation districts to take on responsibilities for contracts with the Federal Government. The directors of the Klamath Water Users Association put to vote the creation of the Klamath Irrigation District to take on this responsibility.
On 18 December 1917, KWUA board members G.W. Offield (Chair), J.M. Ezell, and A.L. Marshall were elected as Directors for Klamath Irrigation District. Albert E. Elder served as the District's Secretary.
Meetings of the Klamath Water Users Association were curtailed shortly after the contracts were handed over to Klamath Irrigation District in 1918. On 6 April 1929, the KWUA appointed A. M. Thomas (Secretary of Klamath Irrigation District) as its Secretary and resolved that the Klamath Irrigation District secretary shall also perform the role as Secretary for the KWUA "for the purposes of winding up the unfinished business of said Association."
Reclamation's Klamath Project
After World War I, Klamath Project plots were raffled to veterans who applied for them. The early homesteaders on Klamath Project lands had no electricity, running water, nor telephones. They also lacked police and fire departments. Finding the Reclamation Service unresponsive to their needs and local officials unable to help them, the homesteaders founded the Tule Lake Community Club in 1928 and eventually created two schools and a sense of community.
Lower Klamath Lake evaporated after a berm carrying the railroad line between Klamath Falls, Oregon, and California cut it off from its source of water. As the lake shrank, grasshoppers, unchecked by insect-eating birds, infested the region. President Calvin Coolidge responded to the disaster by establishing the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. In 1934, President Franklin Roosevelt's Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act required the renamed Bureau of Reclamation to consider the needs of wildlife when planning projects.
During World War II, the U.S. War Relocation Authority built 10 concentration camps for 18,000 Japanese Americans on project lands. After the war, the Bureau of Reclamation opened 86 Klamath Project farm units of 160 acres or less to homesteading. More than 2,000 veterans applied to take part in the lottery that determined who would live and work there. In addition to a record of military service, applicants had to have farming experience and to be in good health. The new homesteaders formed a potluck social club, and they received support from the surrounding community. By the end of the twentieth century, 1,400 farms were operating on the Klamath Project, cultivating up to 210,000 acres of wheat, barley, alfalfa, potatoes, onions, horseradish, sugar beets, and other crops.
There are 19 canals in the Klamath Reclamation Project that total 185 miles and have capacities ranging from 35 to 1,150 cubic feet per second. Laterals total 490 miles and drains 545 miles.
There are 3 major pumping plants with power input ranging from 1,120 to 3,650 horsepower and capacities from 60 to 388 cubic feet per second, and 33 pumping plants of less than 1,000 horsepower. Two pumping plants are under construction, each with 750 horsepower and capacity of 300 cubic feet per second.
Clear Lake Dam, Gerber Dam, and the Lost River Diversion Dam are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The Link River Dam is operated by the Pacific Power and Light Company in accordance with project needs. The Anderson-Rose Diversion Dam is operated by the Tulelake Irrigation District, and the Langell Valley Irrigation District operates the Malone and Miller Diversion Dams. The canals and pumping plants are operated by the various irrigation districts.
Compare Pre-Project conditions to current conditions
Official Reclamation Annual Histories are available at the Oregon Institue of Technology Library
Klamath Project 1908 Planning Map - Oregon History Project
Twenty Czechoslovakian families fleeing the deteriorating conditions of Moravia, Slovakia, and Bohemia, which conditions led to the beginning of World War I, emigrated to the northern Tule Lake Basin in fall 1909 and began farming the southernmost portion of the Klamath Irrigation District as the Tule Lake waters began to recede. These emigrants founded the town of Malin where they raised turkeys, developed a cheese and produce facility, and began cultivating potatoes. Alois Kalina, a Czechoslovakian emigrant who was reminded of an Eastern European town of Malin surrounded by a lush, fruit- and vegetable-filled landscape suggested the town's name. To preserve their language and cultural traditions, the Czechs established a Bohemian school and Bohemian Hall. In July 1928, they even hosted the Grand Pacific Sokol Festival, a traditional competition of team calisthenics (Turner, 2002).
The Klamath Basin is built for production, with high altitudes, rich well-drained soils and (when allowed) abundant natural surface water resources. The short growing season makes production focused and structured, wich close attention paid to the health and quality of crops and livestock. Paired with topography that compliments a wide variety of species and varieties. Basin agriculture is hardy, healthy, and hard to beat.
Many of the Basin’s crops are sold on a contract-basis, which has been twisted into a negative point in the public arena. Contracts are built on pillars of quality, trust, confidence and consistency, all of which Basin producers do very well. Here’s a roundup of the food & forage that flourishes in our Basin & helps feed the world:
▪️Alfalfa: The nutrition-packed alfalfa which is grown in the Basin is sought after by livestock producers, serving as a critical food source for beef & dairy cattle across the country & around the world.
▪️Barley: Barley thrives in the Basin, resulting in a nutrient-dense grain which is sought after by brewers across the country. Barley is often used as a rotational crop, improving soil health & vitality.
▪️Beef: Raised with ready access to mountain valley pastures and often finished with locally raised grain or potatoes, Basin beef is packed with flavor & nutrition, making it some of the best around.
▪️Carrots: Rooted in the Basin’s rich soils, carrots have made an appearance on area crop reports in recent years. Packed with flavor & nutrition, Basin-grown carrots provide natural color & vitamins in a variety of meals.
▪️Garlic: The sandy shoreline soils which can be found in the Basin provide excellent drainage for outstanding garlic, which is raised for both seed & fresh market purposes.
▪️Grain & Grass Hay: In addition to prime alfalfa, Basin growers produce excellent grain, grass & blended hay options. The flexibility offered by different forages helps livestock producers tailor their nutrition programs to optimally support their herds.
▪️Horseradish: World-renowned for its fiery bite & pure white root, Basin horseradish withstands cold winters & hot summers while providing excellent perennial ground cover & erosion control.
▪️Lamb: Lean, delicious & sustainable, lamb is an excellent livestock option for small & large operations alike. Sheep serve as excellent carbon converters, turning pasture into an important protein source.
▪️Lettuce: A newer crop to the area, lettuces thrive during the summer’s warm days & cool nights that the Basin is known for.
▪️Microgreens: Much like lettuces, microgreens love the Basin’s climate. The close geographical location to the Pacific Northwest results in shorter ship times & fresher, tastier options at the grocery store.
▪️Mint: The Basin’s high altitude, hot days & cool nights concentrate flavor in the leaves of mint crops, resulting in premium mint oil & tea leaf used in discerning markets around the world.
▪️Nursery Crops: The Basin provides a strong start for plants that will be cultivated further in growing regions across the West. Strawberries and raspberries thrive on Basin-grown rootstock, as well as a variety of other fresh market crops.
▪️Onions: The Basin’s ability to grow outstanding onions makes it an important region for producing dehydrator onions, which are a key ingredient for soups, pantry staples & seasoning blends.
▪️Potatoes: One of the Basin’s most recognizable crops, potatoes are a cornerstone of diets around the world. High quality chipping potatoes, Russets, reds, yellows and specialty varieties serve as a potassium-packed part of millions of meals each year.
▪️Wheat: White & red, soft & hard, spring & winter, amber waves of grain are a common sight in the Basin. With large acreage grown as certified organic, wheat is used as a core rotational option for many farms in the area.
Historically Klamath Project Farmers have also been a regional and national producer of sugar beets, strawberries, and hemp. These products are still grown on the Klamath Project lands, just not at the scale or abundance of previous years.
Klamath Irrigation District
Klamath Irrigation District (often referred to as K.I.D.) is a quasi-municipal corporation formed on 17 December 1917 pursuant to Oregon irrigation district law which is now codified as ORS Chapter 545. The District was formed specifically to take over Klamath Water Users Association's 1905 contract with Reclamation; Directors of the Association were the first elected Directors of Klamath Irrigation District before the Association was absolved.
When first formed, the District's boundaries encompassed 68,652 acres.
The mission of Klamath ID is to acquire, maintain, assure, and deliver an adequate irrigation water supply for beneficial use on qualified land within the Klamath Project.
Klamath ID holds water rights in trust and performs operations and maintenance under contract with the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the Klamath Project.
K.I.D. Service Area
Klamath Irrigation District Service Area
Klamath Irrigation District is the backbone to the Klamath Reclamation Project, providing service to eight (8) additional irrigation / improvement districts in addition to numerous individual Warren Act contracts. Klamath ID boundaries include 59,850 acres of the Project’s “Main Unit” lands, Klamath Basin Improvement District (KBID) lands and individual contracted Warren Act lands. Klamath Irrigation District is under contract to deliver water to lands in California served by the D Canal. Klamath ID delivers water to over 122,000 acres of the 233,625-acre Project area in southern Oregon and northern California.
Van Brimmer Ditch Company - 1883 - KA1001
Klamath Irrigation District is under contract to deliver water to the Van Brimmer Ditch Company with a water right claim KA1001 priority date of 1883 and modified by Reclamation's 1909 contract with VBDC. Claim KA1001 for VBDC lands is at a rate of 50 cubic feet per second between 15 April and 15 October with a standard duty of 3.5 acre-feet of water per acre annually.
Henley Ankeny Lands (1,799 acres), with water right claim KA1004 priority date of 1884, are depicted on this map in blue. These lands were under irrigation from Upper Klamath Lake prior to the formation of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
Claim KA1004 for the Henley Ankeny lands at a rate of 49 cubic feet per second between 1 March and 31 October with a standard duty of 3.5 acre-feet of water per acre annually.
KA1000 Lands - 1905
KA1000 Water Right
The Klamath Basin Adjudication has identified claim KA1000 as the water right for other lands within the District with a priority date of 1905. Some properties served by Klamath Irrigation District also have water rights established in the Lost River Decree or by the Oregon Water Resources Department by certificate or permit. Many of the contracts served by Klamath Irrigation District are covered by the KA1000 water right claim.
KBID and Warren Act Lands
Warren Act and Klamath Basin Improvement District Lands
Klamath Irrigation District, under its 1954 contract with Reclamation, serves over 110 individual Warren Act contract lands and most of the Klamath Basin Improvement District lands. These lands are covered in the KA1000 water right claim. The yellow areas on this map include KBID lands, the salmon colored areas are Warren Act Lands (with associated Warren Act Contract # when clicked on)
Elected Directors and Appointed Secretaries of the Klamath Irrigation District
1917: G.W. Offield (President), J.M. Ezell, and A.L. Marshall. Albert Elder (Secretary)
1924: Case (President)
1925: R.E. Bradbury (President), J.L. Jacob, and Chas. E. Drew. A.M. Thomas (Secretary)
1926: R.E. Bradbury (President), J.L. Jacob, and R.C. Short. A.M. Thomas (Secretary) / E.V. Hillius (Secretary)
1927: R.E. Bradbury, J.L. Jacob (President), and W.C. Townsend. A.M. Thomas (Secretary)
1928-1929: J.L. Jacob (President) W.C. Townsend, and Judge H.H Folsom. A.M. Thomas (Secretary of K.I.D. and KWUA)
1930: J.L. Jacob (President), Judge H.H Folsom, and S.P. Dehlinger. A.M. Thomas (Secretary)
1931: E.M. Hammond (President), J.L. Jacob, and S.P. Dehlinger. A.L Crawford (Secretary) and Maud W. Thomas (Acting Secretary)
The significant physical, hydrologic, and biological constraints on annual Klamath Project operations require Reclamation to walk a water-management tightrope.
Litigation
In light of the inability to store water in surplus years for use during shortage years, litigation regarding Klamath operations is almost an annual event, with the plaintiffs changing in relation to the Reclamation decision at issue. In years of water shortage, there is obvious tension between the needs of the endangered fish in Klamath Lake, threatened coho salmon in the Klamath River in Northern California, protected species in neighboring refuges, tribal interests in providing water to both the protected species and to non-protected hatchery fish, and irrigation activities of area farmers.
Oregon law specifically grants OWRD authority to adjudicate federal reserved water rights, in addition to water rights arising under state law. ORS 539.010(7) (“[T]he Water Resources Department may adjudicate federal reserved rights.”). The State of Oregon’s power to adjudicate federal reserved water rights in the Klamath Adjudication has also been specifically confirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. United States v. Oregon, 44 F.3d 758, 770 (9th Cir. 1994) (“We hold that the Klamath Basin adjudication is in fact the sort of adjudication Congress meant to require the United States to participate in when it passed the McCarran Amendment.”); see also White Mountain Apache Tribe v. Hodel, 784 F2d 921, 924 (9th Cir. 1986) (“The state court does have the authority to adjudicate tribal water rights. The Congress has said so . . . the United States Supreme Court has said so . . . the Arizona Supreme Court has said so . . . and we have said so. It is time that the Tribe accept the proposition as true.”). This ability to adjudicate federal water rights is consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recognition that the purpose of Oregon’s general stream adjudication process is to obtain “a complete ascertainment of all existing rights.” Pac. Live Stock Co. v. Lewis, 241 U.S. 440, 447–48 (1916) (emphasis added). It is also consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s recognition hat in Oregon’s water adjudication process, “[a]ll claimants are required to appear and prove their claims; no one can refuse without forfeiting his claim, and all have the same relation to the proceeding.”
This adjudication is the process of determining claims to the use of surface water in the Klamath River Basin. The first phase was the review and determination of these claims by the Oregon Water Resources Department, including the hearing of contests to claims and the issuance of proposed orders by administrative law judges from the State’s Office of Administrative Hearings. This phase of the process was completed with the Department’s issuance of the Adjudicator’s Findings of Fact and Final Order of Determination on March 7, 2013.
The process is now in the second phase. This is the review of the Final Order of Determination by the courts. Adjudication claimants or contestants who dispute the Department’s determination of their claims or contests will have an opportunity to file exceptions with the Klamath County Circuit Court (Court). The Court will then review these exceptions, and will ultimately issue a water rights decree affirming or modifying the Final Order of Determination. The Department can issue water right certificates in accordance with the decree once it is issued by the Court.
"Patti Goldman, an attorney for the Yurok Tribe, maintained on Monday that the California-based litigation "is about authority and specifically whether OWRD has the authority to order Reclamation not to release particular flows for salmon in the Klamath River." Read more at: https://www.law360.com/articles/1553213/dam-removal-unlikely-to-alter-irrigation-suit-tribe-atty-says?copied=1
"The United States Court of Appeals issued a decision that denies Klamath Project irrigators the right to challenge federal agency decisions in court. The ruling, in a case titled Klamath Irrigation District, et al. v. United States, et al., found that irrigation parties could not file legal challenges to federal agency actions or decisions that the irrigators believe are unlawful, unless tribes in the Klamath Basin voluntarily agree to join the case as parties." Federal Court closes doors to irrigators (klamathfallsnews.org)
The Klamath Reclamation Project affect on salmon is not supported by the research conducted by John D. Fortune and many others. Read Fortune's 1966 study here.
In a study of the natural flow of the Klamath River, the Klamath Reclamation Project does not affect Hoopa fisheries. No less than 500,000 acre feet of water evaporated naturally from the reach between Link River and the Keno Reef; water that was never available to the Klamath River below the natural Keno Reef. Annual agricultural diversions to the former lakes and marshlands are much less than the minimum amount of water that naturally evaporated from these water bodies during the same seasons. A new natural flow study will be published in 2025; Reclamation's existing "consumptive use" natural flow study can be reviewed here.
This is a false narrative expressed by NOAA. The changes (affects) created by the Klamath Project replicate the natural cycle of filtration of nutrient heavy waters prior to releasing them, in greater abundance than occurred naturally, into the Klamath River canyon below Keno. The Klamath Reclamation Project, when operated as designed, adds water to the Klamath River; farmland filters out the phosphorus, nitrogen, and other nutrients replicating the natural role of Lower Klamath Lake.
Founding Klamath Water Users Association Director Nathan Smith Merrill
Abel Ady in his boat "Wocus II" on Lower Klamath Lake
The memorial marker placed at the Malin Community Park describes Adams as "Master of horses and man, Conqueror of deserts, Protector of the poor, and pardonable egotist." His ownership of a large dredge allowed investments throughout the Upper Klamath Basin.
Klamath Project 1908 Planning Map - Oregon History Project
Headgates of the A Canal (Klamath Irrigation Canal) 1910 - Postcard
