Irrigation season to start by April 10

By Ty Beaver, Herald and News April 3, 2009

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will begin delivering water to the Klamath Reclamation Project no later than April 10.

Sue Fry, the bureau’s manager for the Project, said favorable conditions led to a sooner-than anticipated start to the irrigation season.

The Project’s irrigation season typically begins on or near April 1. The season was delayed because Upper Klamath Lake was below the minimum levels required for endangered suckers.

Fry told those attending Klamath Water Users Association’s annual meeting Thursday night that the delay was also in the best interest of irrigators to ensure there would be enough water for the entire irrigation season.

“I can only imagine it would be awful to start the season and have to shut you off,” she said.

The April 10 start date indicates the day the bureau will begin filling the system of canals and ditches that crisscross the Project. The day irrigators can actually begin using the water will depend on where they are located in the Project.

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