Our Klamath Basin Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
Our Klamath Basin
Water Crisis
Upholding rural Americans' rights to grow food,
own property, and caretake our wildlife and natural resources.
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Input sought on water quality plan
Public DEQ meeting will be Thursday night
By ELON
GLUCKLICH, Herald and News 5/12/10
State officials want to
know what residents think about plans to boost water quality
in the upper Klamath and Lost rivers sub-basins.
The Oregon Department of
Environmental Quality is hosting a mandated public input
meeting from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the OIT College Union
building, 3201 Campus Drive.
The most recent DEQ report
on the Klamath and Lost rivers total maximum daily loads (TMDL)
revealed
sub-standard water
quality. Under the federal Clean Water Act, the DEQ can compel
water management bodies to improve conditions and fine those
who fail to do so.
Klamath Falls ratepayers
could be faced with an
increase in rates to pay for an estimated $40 million upgrade
to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. That plan is still
in the negotiation phase.
Controlling
pollutants
TMDLs serve to identify
and control pollution sources in the rivers.
The DEQ report indicated
problems in the Klamath and Lost rivers include temperatures
unsustainable for fish life, presence of nitrogen and
phosphorus, as well as substandard biochemical oxygen demand
rates, which can gauge the quality and effectiveness of
wastewater treatment operations.
Local water officials say
they are ready to listen to the public Thursday.
“These preliminary numbers
have been out for a while,” said Robon Evans with the South
Suburban Sanitary District.
The district holds permits
for treated wastewater discharges, which the DEQ has
identified as substandard.
DEQ officials called the
meeting an opportunity for all residents to be apprised of the
water situation, how it will affect their water rates and how
they can contribute to the agency’s implementation process,
said Senior Water Quality Analyst Steve Kirk.
“This provides a strategy for improving quality to meet water
standards,” Kirk said. “We need to take these comments prior
to finalizing the report.”
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Page Updated: Thursday May 13, 2010 02:03 AM Pacific
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