Threats to Aquatic Environments - Freshwater Diversion And Use

Freshwater is a vital resource to humans. It is used for a variety of purposes—drinking water, hydroelectric power production, irrigation of crops, watering of livestock, and for commercial and industrial applications. Diversion of water from natural waterways, such as rivers and streams, stresses aquatic animals living in those habitats.

Klamath Basin

The Klamath Basin in southern Oregon and northern California is the site of a heated battle pitting farmers against a coalition of fishermen and environmentalists who wish to protect three listed species: the coho salmon, shortnose sucker fish, and Lost River sucker fish. Opponents are battling over water, which is needed for irrigation purposes by farmers in the area.

The Klamath River once supported the third-largest salmon run in the country. However, in recent years, water diversion has caused river water levels to be too low to maintain healthy stream conditions and temperatures. Over 7,000 fishing jobs have been lost due to salmon declines. Water diversion practices also violate agreements with Native American tribes to avoid harming healthy salmon runs. Over the years many of the wetlands in the Klamath Basin have been drained for agricultural purposes; however, there are still scattered wetlands and lakes throughout the area. This habitat supports the shortnose sucker and the Lost River sucker, which were listed as endangered in their entire ranges in California and Oregon in 1988.

A lawsuit regarding the distribution of Klamath Basin waters was brought against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) by the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, the Klamath Forest Alliance, the Institute for Fisheries Resources, the Oregon Natural Resources Council, and other groups. The plaintiffs argued that the BOR had met farmers' demands for water but left Klamath River flows much lower than required for survival of the coho salmon, shortnose suckerfish, and Lost River suckerfish. Furthermore, the Bureau was charged with violating the ESA by not consulting with the National Marine Fisheries Service regarding endangered species conservation. Farmers were also accused of wasting water.

In April 2001 the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was found by a federal district court to have knowingly violated the ESA when it allowed delivery of irrigation water required to maintain habitat of the three listed species. As a result of the court decision, federal agencies cut water to irrigation canals in order to preserve water levels in the Upper Klamath Lake for the two species of suckerfish and to increase water flow in the Klamath River for coho salmon. In April 2002 a lawsuit was filed on behalf of the farmers to remove all three species from the Endangered Species List. Water flow was an issue again in 2002. After a federal judge decided not to force the BOR to provide water to listed species in 2002, there was a massive fish-kill involving approximately 33,000 salmon.

Between 2000 and 2002 the Bureau of Reclamation developed numerous operating plans for water flows in the Klamath Basin; however, these plans were continually challenged in court. In 2002 the agency issued a ten-year plan designed to achieve full protection for the river's salmon by 2012. A lengthy court battle over the plan culminated in March 2006 when a federal judge ruled that the plan had to be implemented immediately. The judge noted that salmon water requirements must outweigh the needs of farmers for irrigation water. Because a wet winter had produced large flows in the Klamath River, no immediate effects of the ruling on irrigation supply were anticipated. However, the issue is expected to continue to be a subject of continued litigation.