This is the 2003 Operations Plan (Plan) for the Bureau of Reclamation’s (Reclamation) Klamath Project (Project), which is located within the upper Klamath River Basin in southern Oregon and northern California. This Plan describes Project operations from April 1, 2003 through March 31, 2004 based upon current and expected hydrologic conditions and consistent with the biological opinions issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries (formerly the National Marine Fisheries Service). The Plan is initially derived from the April 1, 2003 Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) inflow forecast (which is not available until on or after April 10). Reclamation developed this Plan to serve as a planning aid for agricultural water users, Klamath Basin Tribes, national wildlife refuges and other interested parties. A planning process for multi-year operations of Project through 2012 is ongoing. Attachment A summarizes the planning methodology Reclamation used to develop the Plan. This plan provides an estimated Project water supply to the following areas:

The predicted inflow (in acre-feet) to UKL from April1 through September 30, 2003, using the NRCS forecast at 50% exceedance, is 290,000 acre-feet for lake elevation operational criteria; and at 70% exceedance, is 238,000 acre-feet for river flow operational criteria.

Reclamation will operate the Project to ensure that elevations in UKL do not recede lower than the average end-of-month elevations that occurred between October 1, 1989 and September 30, 1999 (the "ten-year" period) for the corresponding water year type. Table 3 displays these elevations:

Reclamation will operate the Project to ensure that Klamath River flows at Iron Gate Dam (IGD) meet or exceed the operational criteria in Table 4. Table 4 incorporates revisions made to Table 5.9 consistent with the RPA in the final biological opinion.

The operational criteria include the following down ramping rates at Iron Gate Dam (IGD): (1) decreases in flows of 300 cubic feet per second (CFS) or less per 24-hour period and no more than 125 CFS per four-hour period when IGD flows are above 1,750 CFS; or (2) decreases in flows of 150 CFS or less per 24-hour period and no more than 50 CFS per two-hour period when IGD flows are 1,750 CFS or less.

The Project water bank will be 50,000 acre-feet. During 2003, Reclamation is pursuing reasonable options for securing water to meet the water bank requirement. Table 5 displays the amount of additional flow at Iron Gate Dam resulting from distribution of the water bank (50,000 acre-feet) as determined by NOAA Fisheries:

This is provided for information purposes only and uses a "DRY" water year type for the UKL delivery area (5 WYT) and a "DRY" water year types for the East Side delivery area (4 WYT). Table 6 compares the 2003 estimated Project water supply for irrigation and refuges to historical deliveries from 1961 to 2002.

* Available supply after the water bank has been subtracted (50,000 acre-feet from the irrigation supply and 3,500 acre-feet from the refuge supply). This is an estimate of the water supply and is subject to change if hydrological conditions change after April 1. The actual amount provided may be greater or less than this estimate.

The 2003 operations plan was developed in accordance with the 2002 Service and NOAA Fisheries biological opinions. The information in the plan is developed as follows:

Reclamation estimates the inflow (in acre-feet) using the NRCS’s forecast beginning in early January (for information purposes) and revises the inflow predictions in early February and March. The estimate of predicted inflows uses the 50% exceedance for UKL for lake elevation planning considerations and a 70% exceedance for UKL river flow planning considerations

UKL water year types for Project operations planning purposes are defined by historic actual inflow. The methodology used to define the water year type parameters was explained in the Klamath Project 1998 Operations Plan Environmental Assessment. For UKL, water year type is defined by the forecast inflow between April 1 and September 30 annually. In early April (usually on or after April 10), Reclamation will determine the water year type most likely to occur from April through September. As a result of ESA consultation, two sets of water year types have been defined for purposes of annual operations planning. For lake elevation planning, Reclamation will use four water year types: above average, below average, dry and critical dry. For river flow planning, Reclamation will use five water year types: wet, above average, average, below average and dry. Reclamation will continue to monitor the NRCS forecasts in May and June. After June, actual inflow to UKL will be regularly monitored. The continued monitoring of predicted and actual inflows will allow Reclamation to adapt Project operation to respond to the actual water year type if precipitation and hydrological conditions after April 1 vary significantly from conditions prior to April 1. The water year type can, and will, be changed to either wetter or drier year types after April 1, if necessary, in response to actual hydrologic conditions.

Water deliveries for irrigation from UKL will be provided within the operations regime observed from water year 1990 through water year 1999 (ten-year period) consistent with the findings of the National Research Council’s Interim Report of February 2002. The observed values for the lake levels and river flows that occurred during the ten-year period were used as criteria to determine the Project’s irrigation and refuge deliveries in Reclamation’s biological assessment (BA). The operational criteria for river flows have been revised to be consistent with the reasonable and prudent alternative (RPA) in NOAA Fisheries 2002 biological opinion. That biological opinion specifies that during Phase I (2002-2005) Reclamation will operate the Project to meet or exceed the Klamath River flows at Iron Gate Dam described in Table 5.9 of the biological assessment (as modified by conversion to five water year types) plus the additional volume of water to be provided by the water bank. It also states that the flows would be modified on an annual basis by agreed upon use of the water bank for improved spring flows and/or summer flows and that by March 31 of each year, NMFS and Reclamation will determine how this additional water will be distributed for release.

Reclamation’s 2002 BA proposed establishment and use of a "water bank" and that the size of the water bank would be determined using criteria set out in the 2002 BA. However, as a result of ESA consultation, the Service and NOAA Fisheries established the water bank size for 2003 at 50,000 acre-feet in the 2002 biological opinions (page 11 and page 56 in the respective opinions). The water bank size has been determined and does not require the 2002 BA calculation. Reclamation has agreed to operate the Project during 2003 consistent with the 2002 biological opinions. The water bank will be deducted from the Project water supply available for irrigation.

During 2003, Reclamation will pursue reasonable options for securing water to meet the water bank requirement. Reclamation believes that several sources of water, including regulatory storage, irrigation demand reduction and groundwater may be feasible for the water bank. Demand reduction includes both irrigation demand reduction and refuge demand reduction. Irrigation demand reduction involves farmers voluntarily idling their lands in return for compensation. Groundwater or conjunctive use involves using pumped groundwater from wells to supplement surface water supplies. There may be additional shortages to irrigation and refuge deliveries due to hydrological conditions after the water bank is deducted from the Project water supply. Agricultural users would not be compensated for these additional shortages that result from unanticipated hydrologic conditions.

Reclamation estimated the Project water supply for irrigation and refuges available from UKL by:

• First, estimating inflow from April 1 through September 30, 2003.
• Second, determining the applicable water year type for 2003.
• Quantifying the applicable water bank amount for 2003.
• Third, determining the minimum amount of water for agriculture based on the year type:
• Then, using the elevation/flow operational criteria for the applicable water year type.
• Estimating the available Project water supply, after deducting the water bank amount, using the KPOPFOR forecasting model that may be available, keeping in mind that actual conditions may differ a great deal from the Model.

Project water has historically been delivered to Tule Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges during Project operation (see Table 7) for maintaining seasonal and permanent refuge wetlands. Reclamation considered historic refuge deliveries to assist with 2003 operations planning. The Service provided information related to refuge management and operation during various water year types. The refuges receive water year-round, not just during April-September. October-March water deliveries are important to the refuge and affect overall Project operation. Reclamation may be required to adjust refuge Project water deliveries to meet the 2002 biological opinion requirements and irrigation deliveries, when necessary.

Reclamation stated in its 2002 biological assessment (BA) that national wildlife refuges, including Tule Lake, Lower Klamath, Upper Klamath Lake and Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuges, are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and their operation is subject to the Service’s management and control. The BA described only those effects upon the refuges that resulted from operation of the Klamath Project and not the effects of refuge operation. During 2003, Reclamation will operate the Project consistent with the requirements of the 2002 biological opinions (BO), including establishment/use of a water bank, and provide adequate water to Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges, when in priority and when water is available. This requires consideration of refuge water deliveries as part of the 2003 operations plan because those deliveries contribute to Reclamation’s ability to meet the BO requirements and its legal obligations.

Reclamation’s compliance with the BOs requires a water bank which involves acquiring water from all components of the Project, including refuges. The water bank amount has been established for 2003 (i.e. 50,000 acre-feet). The extent that the irrigation and refuge components of the Project provide water for the water bank will be based upon their Project water use. This means that when Project irrigators are required to reduce a portion of their Project water use through demand reduction, then Project water deliveries to refuges would be reduced by a similar proportion. Should additional requirements for Project water develop then Project water deliveries to refuges could be further reduced. If additional hydrologic shortages occur, refuge deliveries could be completely curtailed.

Reclamation considered other information relevant to the operations plan that could influence the UKL Project water supply for irrigation and refuges, such as:

• Comparing the estimated 2003 Project water supply for the UKL delivery area to historic UKL irrigation and refuge deliveries; and comparing the estimated 2003 Project water supply for the East Side delivery area to historic East Side irrigation deliveries. The comparison of estimated supplies to historic deliveries serves to inform both Reclamation and Project water users of potential needs for additional demand reduction/supply enhancement measures. Reclamation may investigate and implement measures to either further reduce demand or enhance supply as a result of the comparison. Such measures would be in addition those implemented to establish the water bank.

• Reclamation considered the effects of pre-season fall/winter irrigation of agricultural and refuge lands in the UKL delivery area. This pre-irrigation could, during drier hydrologic conditions, affect Reclamation’s ability to meet the UKL operational criteria for endangered suckers by reducing the amount of water storage in the lake. If such a circumstance were to arise, then Project operation could be modified in response to pre-season irrigation and/or the available supply for pre-irrigation could be reduced. This condition did not occur prior to April 1, 2003.

• Precipitation in Klamath Falls, Oregon during February and March. Precipitation during this period establishes the agricultural demand index when the irrigation season starts in early April. This index is integrated into operation planning model used to predict the Project water supply.

Reclamation will operate the Project reservoirs that serve the East Side delivery area (Gerber Reservoir and Clear Lake) consistent with the 2002 BOs, as amended to clarify application of the operational criteria for endangered suckers. This operation ensures that reservoir/lake elevations do not recede lower than the minimum elevations needed to protect endangered suckers on September 30, i.e. elevations 4798.1 for Gerber Reservoir and 4520.6 for Clear Lake. Reclamation estimated the Project water supply for irrigation by: (1) determining the April 1 reservoir/lake volume (assuming that the April 1 elevation is no less than the minimum required elevation to protect endangered suckers); (2) adding any inflows and subtracting evaporation/leakage between April 1 and September 30; and (3) subtracting the September 30 reservoir/lake volume at the minimum required elevations to protect endangered suckers.