Some other farmers rely on water from a different river, and they will also have a limited supply. “This just couldn’t be worse,” said Klamath Irrigation District president Ty Kliewer. In better water years the pulses of water help keep the river cool and turbulent — conditions that help the fragile species. Less than a decade later, coho salmon that spawn downstream from the reclamation project, in the lower Klamath River, were listed as threatened. The water necessary to sustain the coho salmon downstream comes from Upper Klamath Lake — the main holding tank for the farmers’ irrigation system.

Source: ABC News May 14, 2021 21:23 UTC