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Irrigators talk about pros, cons of water agreement

About 100 show up for first of series of meetings

January 22, 2010 Herald and News

Attorney Paul Simmons says the Klamath Reclamation Project will still be vulnerable to a water shortage in an extreme drought, even with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement.

Greg Addington, executive director of Klamath Water Users Association, said the document also doesn’t exempt the Project from the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.

“Politically, it’s just a humongous hurdle right now,” Addington said.

Despite those shortcomings, both promoted the document as a better future for Project irrigators, bringing about increased water supply stability, affordable power and improved relations with other stakeholders.

“The goal of the agreement is to be way better off than without the agreement,” Simmons said..

About 100 people attended the public meeting arranged by the association Thursday night at the auditorium at Oregon Institute of Technology. The association’s board of directors, has one of the stakeholders of the agreement, will vote on whether to support or reject the agreement before Feb. 9, after all the irrigation districts it represents notifies it of their decision.