Water fight continues, Klamath Tribes files lawsuit against Bureau of Reclamation

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. —The Klamath Tribes have filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Reclamation, which runs the Klamath Project. The tribes are asking for the bureau to release less water down the Klamath River for flows in California.

The Klamath Water Users Association says the amount being released right now is close to a billion gallons per day. The tribes want it cut back to about half that amount. The reason, to keep more water at a greater depth in Upper Klamath Lake.

The KWUA says although the amount scheduled for irrigation out of Upper Klamath Lake is minimal, the tribe wants to prevent irrigation use of that water.

“We don’t object at all to cutting back on flows down the Klamath River, but we disagree with the basis that the tribe is asserting in this case, we want to protect whatever irrigation water we may have,” said Paul Simmons, KWUA Executive Director.

A preliminary hearing on the case is happening Monday.

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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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