Letter to the Editor by, Ben DuVal

Farmers and ranchers who care about power costs for irrigation should attend the public meeting at Klamath Community College on Tuesday, September 10, starting at 9:00 a.m.

Irrigation water users like me and my neighbors need affordable power to manage water efficiently and succeed. Our irrigation districts, and the Klamath Project as a whole, need affordable power to maintain the Project-wide efficiencies, keep assessments down, and move water to the wildlife refuge.

Unfortunately, in the Upper Klamath Basin, we lost our traditional arrangements for very low-cost power beginning in 2006 , and since that time, costs have skyrocketed.

At Klamath Water Users Association, we are not content with complaining. We need to get something done. We worked hard with our Congressional delegation, and through their leadership, legislation was passed last year requiring the Bureau of Reclamation to prepare a report on how our powers costs compare with other areas and the best ways to bring costs down. This report is for the benefit of both the Klamath Project and irrigators around and upstream of Upper Klamath Lake.

This important work is underway and the report to Congress will be completed around the end of this year. Then, the hard work will really begin, when we have that report and begin to implement projects.

For now, get informed, and make yourself heard. We want your input.

Ben DuVal, Tulelake
Klamath Water Users Association Vice Chair and Power Committee Chairman

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