Klamath water leaders upset with 2023 irrigation supply

KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. —The Bureau of Reclamation is announcing its 2023 irrigation supply for Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River, and it has some people unhappy.

It’s allocating 215,000 acre-feet of water. The Klamath Water Users Association says that’s about half of the water needed for irrigation and wildlife refuges.

The KWUA says while this is the largest allocation in the last 4 years, it says it expected more water.

“Serious disappointment in light of the fact that we are currently at 190% of median snowpack in the Klamath basin and there’s just a fair amount of water available so we are disappointed, to say the least,” said KWUA Executive Director, Paul Simmons.

Along with the supply, reclamation announced that over $9 million will be available through the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency. It’s for contractors who received a reduced water allocation.

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Jenna King is the 6pm and 11pm anchor for NBC5 News. Jenna is a Burbank, CA native. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Sports Business. During her time at Oregon she was part of the student-run television station, Duck TV. She also grew her passion for sports through her internship with the PAC 12 Network. When Jenna is not in the newsroom you can find her rooting for her hometown Dodgers, exploring the outdoors or binging on the latest Netflix release.
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