By Communications Staff | WaterWatch of Oregon
...we know the worth of water."
- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac
Thankfully, some wells will not go dry because you've helped do something great: In February, Oregon and California's elected leaders, along with the Obama Administration, prioritized an agreement to remove the four lower Klamath River dams!
Removal of these four obsolete hydro dams will be a major step forward for the health of the Klamath River and the communities of the Klamath Basin.
“These dams cause profound damage to salmon populations and water quality in the Klamath River,” said Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch’s Communications Director and Southern Oregon Program Manager. “Their removal will be a boon for the many communities which depend upon the Klamath River’s invaluable resources, help fulfill Native American fishing rights throughout the basin, and protect thousands of commercial and recreational salmon fishing jobs.”
Klamath dam removal had remained stalled for years by unnecessary linkage to federal legislation to implement the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, a wildly expensive and controversial water deal that had divided the basin’s Native American tribes, conservationists, and agricultural community. Congress then held dam removal hostage by failing to act on the agreement, which expired in 2015.
While this is a step in the right direction, WaterWatch continues to have serious concerns over water supply for Lower Klamath and Tule Lake national wildlife refuges. And several items remain on the to-do list -- advancing a stand-alone dam removal deal separate from any water agreement or other federal legislation; urging legislators to not propose any new electrical power subsidies for upper Klamath Basin irrigators; stopping repeated Klamath waterfowl die-offs due to water scarcity; and implementing basin-wide, comprehensive, and voluntary water use reduction in the region.
But for now, your generous support has helped set the stage to remove four more dams -- and that is a big deal! Thank you.
Stay tuned for more updates!
[Photos courtesy of Jim McCarthy.]
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