Settle water adjudication before Basin agreement 

Letter to the Editor of Herald and News 10/15/09 by James Ottoman, Klamath Falls

The part of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement calling for demolition of four dams on the Klamath River should be tabled until the Oregon State water adjudication process for the Upper Klamath Basin is completed.

There are many reasons for deferring this part of the KBRA, including the fact that Oregon State has not legally established minimum stream flow requirements on its portion of the river.

With the dams removed, the mainstream minimum flow could be increased by some other entity. Also, the 40,000 acre-feet that are now being diverted out of the Upper Klamath Basin to the Rogue River could be in jeopardy.

State water right laws have made the Western states prosper and grow. Oregon has been the leader in minimum stream flow legislation and must continue to have a contributing voice through water rights adjudication on the Upper Klamath River Basin.