Water Users Motion Says Injunction Not Needed

File Photo, Farmer moves irrigation pipe in a potato field. (Brian Gailey)

Klamath Falls, OR – Yesterday, [3/7/18] Water Users in the Klamath Project have asked a federal court in San Francisco to modify an injunction issued last year. The injunction, issued in cases brought by the Hoopa Valley and Yurok Tribes and environmental groups is in effect until federal agencies complete a new Endangered Species Act “consultation” process, which is not expected until after the 2019 irrigation season.

The motion, filed jointly by Klamath Water Users Association, Sunnyside Irrigation District, Klamath Irrigation District, Klamath Drainage District, and Tulelake farmer Ben Duval, who intervened in the cases, says the injunction was not necessary at all, but at very least should not apply in 2018. The water users filed the motion to avoid unnecessary harm to irrigators in what is already expected to be a water-short year.

“We’ve always doubted the scientific basis for any injunction,” said KID and KWUA board member Jerry Enman. “But the more we learn, the more we realize just how speculative the case was.” The injunction was issued in the winter of 2017 by Judge David Orrick, and requires increased pulse flows above Endangered Species Act (ESA) biological opinion requirements. One type of flow is intended to dislodge aquatic worms that produce a natural salmon parasite that can cause disease; another requirement is to reserve 50,000 acre-feet of water to dilute spores of the parasite if various triggers are met in spring. 

KWUA President Brad Kirby explained that “Even last year when it was wet, we almost weren’t able to start irrigation on time because of the possibility a dilution flow might be required, and letting that water out of Klamath Lake would end up affecting ESA requirements for suckers. This year that situation is much worse, and the reserve for dilution can hurt us even if it doesn’t have to be used.”

The paper filed by the water users say that extreme high flows last year flushed out the lower river, and even if conditions for infection arise, juvenile fish will have migrated out before there are any potential problem. 

The injunction is also under appeal in the ninth circuit court of appeals. Reagan Desmond, attorney for Klamath Drainage District, explained that parties can go back to the original court for modification of an injunction. “Nothing’s easy, but we have put forward a solid case for relief,” according to Desmond. 

A hearing on the motion is scheduled for April 11.

For more information contact, Scott White, Executive Director of the KWUA, 541-883-6100 or scott@kwua.org, www.kwua.org. 

Press release provided by Klamath Water Users Association.