Increased Water Flows Released from Iron Gate Dam

During the release, water flows increased from 1,600 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 5,000 cfs for six hours, followed by a reduction in flow to 1,300 cfs to allow Upper Klamath Lake to fill.

The pulse flows were meant to scour gravel in areas below the dam that are infested with the host of a parasite that kills large numbers of juvenile fish each year. Adult salmon carry the parasite upstream to their spawning grounds and, when they die, release spores of a worm that becomes an intermediate host. The parasite can then be passed on to young fish.

Opinions about the effectiveness and purpose of the increased water flow varied.

“We believe this temporary increase in water flow will help flush out the fish disease-causing parasites from below Iron Gate Dam,” said Craig Tucker, Klamath Coordinator for the Karuk Tribe, a signatory to the Klamath Settlements that includes the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA) linked together with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA).

“The Klamath Agreements are supposed to ensure collaborative communication with all stakeholders, reaching a balanced outcome that considers the complex needs of energy customers, agriculture, fish, and the environment,” said Dean Brockbank, PacifiCorp’s lead Klamath settlement negotiator. “That outcome has been achieved here and points to the strength of the settlements as the most productive path forward for balancing the many competing demands on Klamath basin resources.”

The Hoopa Valley Tribe has a different opinion.

According to Communications Coordinator for Hoopa Valley Tribal Fisheries, Allie Hostler, the ESA requires water to flow at a minimum of 1,300 cfs during a critically dry year.

“So far, all indications are that the Klamath system is on track for an above average water year, with Upper Klamath Lake predicted to be at 116 percent of normal,” said Hostler. “We have to ask, where is the drought?”

Hoopa Valley Fisheries believes current water availability indicates that between 2,400 and 3,100 cfs should flow down the river continuously throughout the month of February, rather than a one-time surge followed by a constant flow of 1,300 cfs.

“A 5,000 cfs spike is wonderful, but the river needs adequate water flow for more than six hours,” Hostler said.

“There is a reason the ESA and the best available science calls for minimum flows. That reason is fish survival. The water supply models are being manipulated to fill Upper Klamath Lake because of a running deficit due to over diversion,” said Hostler.

In an article in the Times-Standard by John Driscoll dated March 24, 2010, Yurok Tribe biologist, Joshua Strange was cited as suggesting that a short, high, additional flow of 3,000 cfs from Iron Gate in February could disturb the silty, flat stretches of river where the worm is abundant and help flush out the disease.

Strange also hypothesized that with more than 80,000 fish running upriver, and less than 2,000 cfs of water running downriver, there is the possibility of another fish kill. He referenced the 2002 event that killed 68,000 Chinook.

According to the Bureau of Reclamation’s press release, an advisory team will continue to discuss the need and timing of any increased flows and their impact on endangered salmon in the Klamath River, endangered suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, and Klamath Project Irrigators. Efforts will be made to determine if the increased flows were successful in removing disease-causing parasites from the river.

“The flow variability team has worked effectively together and will monitor the program so we can better understand the influence of pulsed flows on the incidence of fish disease in the Klamath River,” said NMFS Arcata Office Supervisor Irma Lagomarsino.

###