Irrigation water has now been shut off to about 80 farms and ranches in Klamath County.
Eric Duarte’s access to water from the Sprague River was shut off a week ago…
“They just said that we were shut off because there was a senior water right call, which would be the Tribe, which would be a ‘time immemorial’ right.”
Duarte’s water rights go back to 1864…but a recent state ruling gives the Klamath Tribe’s rights priority.
“Nobody’s saying that the Tribe doesn’t have a water right on the river.” Notes Duarte. “It’s just that right now, it’s just a quantification of the water that they’ve been awarded that’s hard for everybody to make a living.”
The Duarte family gets their drinking water from an artesian spring…but that’s not enough water for his cattle.
Duarte says he’s already having to sell some of his livestock…
“At the moment, I shipped two loads of yearlings yesterday. We’re going to try to lighten it up a little bit as we can go.”
Nikki Duarte is organizing an agricultural awareness rally that will take place Monday…
“It’s all about agriculture, and agriculture will affect everyone. It’s going to affect grocery stores, it’s going to affect the city people, it’s going to affect everyone.”
The rally and convoy will begin Monday morning at nine at the Klamath County Fairgrounds, and will conclude at the bucket in front of the Klamath County Government Center.
Duarte is still optimistic that a water solution can be reached that will include ‘off project’ irrigators…
“There’s plenty of water in this basin for everybody. We just have to sit down, try to get around the table of some sort, and negotiate a deal.”
‘If’ those ranchers can get through this summer.
The shutoffs of irrigation water are continuing on the Sprague, Williamson, and Wood Rivers above Upper Klamath Lake.
Water could be shut off to about 180 square miles of farm and ranch land.
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