Klamath River Basin Issues: An Overview of Water Use Conflicts

Congressional Research Service (CRS) | June 13th, 2002

Severe drought in 2001 affected the Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon border, exacerbating competition for scarce water resources and generating confl

Severe drought in 2001 affected the Klamath River Basin, an area on the California-Oregon border, exacerbating competition for scarce water resources and generating conflict among several interests – farmers, municipal and industrial users, commercial and sport fishermen, other recreationists, federal wildlife refuges, environmental groups, and Indian Tribes. The conflicts over water distribution and allocation are physically and legally complex, reflecting the varied and sometimes competing uses of limited water supplies in the Upper Basin. On April 6, 2001, the Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau), which has supplied water to farms in the Upper Basin for nearly 100 years, announced that “no water [would] be available” for farms normally receiving water from the Upper Klamath Lake, so that scarce water could be used to protect species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Water was available to some farmers from other sources (e.g., wells and other Bureau sources); however, many farmers were not able to plant or harvest crops due to severe cutbacks in water supplies. Emotions ran high on all sides of the issues, and the water control gates were unlawfully opened by protesters. Although the Basin has received significantly more precipitation in 2002, many issues remain in dispute. In addition, several judicial decisions have affected the issues with respect to the listed species as well as tribal rights. On May 31, 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service both issued Final Biological Opinions on the Bureau’s 10-year Operation Plan for the Klamath Project. The agencies found that the Bureau’s proposed action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the two listed suckers and coho salmon, as well as result in the adverse modification of proposed critical habitat; however, both Opinions also included “reasonable and prudent alternatives” for operating the Project that would remove the jeopardizing effects of the proposed action. However, on June 3, 2002, the Bureau formally rejected both Final Biological Opinions, but opted instead to operate under a one-year plan that it asserts complies with the Opinions. Independently, in March 2002, the President appointed a high-level working group to develop solutions. Congress has responded to the controversy in a number of ways, including holding several oversight hearings and appropriating funds for water conservation activities in the area. This report provides background on the geographic, historic, and legal underpinnings of the current conflicts. Because the report focuses on the current conflicts, it deals primarily with Klamath Project operations in the Upper Klamath Basin and effects associated with water releases from Upper Klamath Lake.

Land Reclamation Impacts on Tidal Landscape Evolution

American Geophysical Union (AGU) | August 21st, 2025

Fertile and low-lying coastal landscapes are often densely populated due to food supply (agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries) and easy navigability (shipping lanes).

Fertile and low-lying coastal landscapes are often densely populated due to food supply (agriculture, aquaculture, and fisheries) and easy navigability (shipping lanes). Much of the low-lying land that is regularly inundated by the sea has been converted to agricultural land or urban environments to meet the need for land. This reclamation of land influences the tidal dynamics of the coastal environment, which in turn modifies its morphology. Through various complex tide-topography interactions identified in this paper, we explore how the location and extent of land reclamation influences tides and bed levels in various tidal environments. We especially point to the key role of sediments herein, introducing feedback mechanisms that lead to large impacts on tidal landscapes, but also long adaptation times. This is especially the case for estuaries due to their confinement and the typically large availability of sediments.

Left Out in Drought: California Fish Impacts of the California Drought on Freshwater Ecosystems

Pacific Institute | September 7th, 2022

California is deep into the third year of another major drought. Rural and urban areas again face water use restrictions and financial losses. Less water and hotter tempe

California is deep into the third year of another major drought. Rural and urban areas again face water use restrictions and financial losses. Less water and hotter temperatures also stress ecosystems, increasing the prevalence of wildfires, air pollution, dry streambeds, and loss of wildlife. Impacts to rural and urban areas frequently mask the disproportionate ecological impacts of the drought and the related policy and management responses that have exacerbated those impacts. The lack of acknowledgement and de- prioritization of ecosystem water needs during drought has led to insufficient actions taken to protect the natural systems on which we all depend.

Lessons from California’s 2012–2016 Drought

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) | October 1st, 2018

California’s 5-year drought has ended, even as its aftermath lingers. From 2012–2016 much or all of California was under severe drought conditions, with gre

California’s 5-year drought has ended, even as its aftermath lingers. From 2012–2016 much or all of California was under severe drought conditions, with greatly diminished precipitation, snowpack, and streamflow and higher temperatures. Water shortages to forests, aquatic ecosystems, hydroelectric power plants, rural drinking water supplies, agriculture, and cities caused billions of dollars in economic losses, killed millions of forest trees, brought several fish species closer to extinction, and caused inconvenience and some expense to millions of households and businesses. The drought also brought innovations and improvements in water management, some of which will better prepare California for future droughts. This paper summarizes the magnitude and impacts of the 2012–2016 California drought. The paper then reviews innovations arising from the drought in the larger historical context of water management in California. Lessons for California and for modern drought management are then discussed. Droughts in modern, well-managed water systems serving globalized economies need not be economically catastrophic, but will always have impacts and challenges, particularly for native ecosystems. In California and every other water system, droughts usefully expose weaknesses and inadequate preparation in water management. In this regard for California, managers of ecosystems and small rural water supplies had the most to learn.

Letter from National Marine Fisheries Service: Re: Proposed Modification to the Annual Review Schedule Required as Part of the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative in the National Marine Fisheries Service’s 2009 Biological Opinion on the Coordinated Long-term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project (June 30, 2016)

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | June 30th, 2016

Letter from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation: Proposed Modification to the Annual Review Schedule Required as Part of the Reasonable and Prudent Alternative in the National Marine Fisheries Service’s 2009 Biological Opinion on the Coordinated Long-term Operation of the Central Valley Project and State Water Project (April 25, 2016)

Delta Stewardship Council (Delta Council) | April 25th, 2016

Letter to Governor Brown and the Legislature on the Salton Sea

Little Hoover Commission | June 24th, 2016

The Little Hoover Commission in a letter sent Friday to Governor Brown and the Legislature again renewed its call for urgent action at the Salton Sea to prevent a massive

The Little Hoover Commission in a letter sent Friday to Governor Brown and the Legislature again renewed its call for urgent action at the Salton Sea to prevent a massive public health, environmental and economic disaster in Southern California. Policymakers must replicate the effective approach taken to meet the state’s rewewable energy goals, wrote the Commission in its letter. Then, the Govenor gave a senior official the authority to do what it took to get projects through red tape at all levels of government. The model was remarkably simple: Get everyone together and get it done. The letter results from continuing oversight to which the Commission pledged in its 2015 report, Averting Disaster: Action Now for the Salton Sea. The Commission held an April 2016 hearing to get an update on the state’s progress in strategically managing the Salton Sea. It heard from the assistant secretary for Salton Sea policy at the Natural Resources Agency, as well as stakeholders from local government and the environmental community. The Commission’s letter acknowledges that momentum is building and that the state has made important progress in managing the sea, particularly with $80 million in funding in the Governor’s proposed 2016-17 budget. However, the Commission’s letter maintains that the state is not moving fast enough or allocating sufficient resources to prevent a disaster. Timelines have been delayed, short-term goals scarcely cover a fraction of exposed lakebed and much more than $80 million is needed to manage the sea.

Linkage of In Vitro Assay Results With In Vivo End Points, Phases 1 and 2

San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) | April 3rd, 2017

Our results clearly show that it is possible to establish linkages between the screening level in in vitro assays and higher order endpoints in fish that are infl

Our results clearly show that it is possible to establish linkages between the screening level in in vitro assays and higher order endpoints in fish that are influenced by estrogen, such as growth and gonadal sex differentiation (Table 1). As expected, the in vitro responses are the most sensitive endpoints tested and using them as a monitoring tool can provide a margin of safety for aquatic organisms that may be more sensitive to estrogenic chemicals than Menidia. Moreover, the margin of safety provided, represented by the ratio of in vivo to in vitro EC50s ranged from 0.9 to 9 for the potent estrogen E2 to 1.2 for E1 and 2.4 to 3.4 for NP (Table 1). There were no significant effects on growth, but merely trends, by any of the chemicals tested, suggesting that a higher “n” may be required to see appropriate effects on this endpoint. Using more concentrations for in vivo tests can refine these ratios.

Linking river management to species conservation using dynamic landscape-scale models

River Research and Applications (Wiley) | March 23rd, 2012

Efforts to conserve stream and river biota could benefit from tools that allow managers to evaluate landscape-scale changes in species distributions in response to water

Efforts to conserve stream and river biota could benefit from tools that allow managers to evaluate landscape-scale changes in species distributions in response to water management decisions. We present a framework and methods for integrating hydrology, geographic context and metapopulation processes to simulate effects of changes in streamflow on fish occupancy dynamics across a landscape of interconnected stream segments. We illustrate this approach using a 482 km2 catchment in the southeastern US supporting 50 or more stream fish species. A spatially distributed, deterministic and physically based hydrologic model is used to simulate daily streamflow for sub-basins composing the catchment. We use geographic data to characterize stream segments with respect to channel size, confinement, position and connectedness within the stream network. Simulated streamflow dynamics are then applied to model fish metapopulation dynamics in stream segments, using hypothesized effects of streamflow magnitude and variability on population processes, conditioned by channel characteristics. The resulting time series simulate spatially explicit, annual changes in species occurrences or assemblage metrics (e.g. species richness) across the catchment as outcomes of management scenarios. Sensitivity analyses using alternative, plausible links between streamflow components and metapopulation processes, or allowing for alternative modes of fish dispersal, demonstrate large effects of ecological uncertainty on model outcomes and highlight needed research and monitoring. Nonetheless, with uncertainties explicitly acknowledged, dynamic, landscape-scale simulations may prove useful for quantitatively comparing river management alternatives with respect to species conservation.

Listen to the River: An Independent Review of the CVPIA Fisheries Program

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) | December 12th, 2008

In 1992 Congress directed the Department of Interior to develop and implement a program that makes “all reasonable efforts” to ensure and sustain on a long-term basis

In 1992 Congress directed the Department of Interior to develop and implement a program that makes “all reasonable efforts” to ensure and sustain on a long-term basis a doubling of the number of naturally produced anadromous fish in Central Valley rivers and streams by 2002. Doubling did not happen by the legislative goal of 2002, or by 2008, nor is it likely to ever occur unless renewed commitments and improvements are made to the CVPIA program. The specific “doubling” mission itself may make little scientific or policy sense, especially within the time frames demanded. Yet it is also far from clear that the agencies have done what is possible and necessary to improve freshwater conditions to help these species weather environmental variability, halt their decline and begin rebuilding in a sustainable way. A number of the most serious impediments to survival and recovery are not being effectively addressed, especially in terms of the overall design and operation of the Central Valley Project system. Underlying this independent review of the CVPIA anadromous fish program, asked for by the federal agencies, is the question why the CVPIA program has not been successful in achieving its mission. In this report, we identify scientific, institutional and programmatic obstacles to the success of the CVPIA, drawing conclusions from the information provided. Based on these conclusions, we make recommendations to Reclamation and the Service on how these obstacles might be overcome.