Klamath Diversion
Encyclopedia
The Klamath Diversion was a federal water project proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the 1960s. It would have diverted the Klamath River
in Northern California
to the more arid southern part of that state. By providing increased water supply to Southern California, it was proposed that it would allow for other Southwestern states—Arizona
, Nevada
, New Mexico
and Utah
—as well as Mexico
could receive an increased share of the waters of the Colorado River
.
The diversion would have involved building a dam a short distance from the mouth of the Klamath River, as well as on the Trinity
and some of its tributaries. A tunnel would have carried much of the Klamath's water to the Sacramento River
, whose flow would be routed around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and travel under the Tehachapi Mountains
to the Los Angeles Basin
. The Klamath River is one of the western continental United States' most important salmon
-run rivers, and building the diversion would have all but destroyed the salmon run and fishery. Both commercial fishermen and Native Americans
—namely the Yurok—opposed the plan, as did the city of Los Angeles
. The city saw the Klamath Diversion as a "ploy to encourage it to relinquish its claim on the share of the river [the Colorado] it considered its own".
and Glen Canyon Dam
—in the river's canyon. Eventually, the region spun out of its wet spell, and the river's flow dropped to around 14500000 acre.ft per year. The U.S. had originally settled an agreement with Mexico—1000000 acre.ft annually. This great reduction in water supply spurred Southern California to look north to the Sacramento River
area for water. This, however, was not enough, as some flow must be allowed into the delta to prevent its destruction by saltwater.
Eventually, not only the Sacramento but its major tributaries such as the Feather
and American
; the San Joaquin River
and its tributaries in the south, were all being exploited to their maximum capacity, primarily for irrigation purposes. The Klamath was California's only remaining major river that was not already being exploited in this manner. Not counting smaller rivers in Oregon
such as the Rogue
and Umpqua
, the closest rivers that provided a sufficient flow were the Columbia River
in the north and its tributary the Snake
. The Klamath River was not only closer, but has over twice the flow of either the Rogue or Umpqua, and over one-third of the discharge of the Snake.
Another major problem was the climate of the Klamath River watershed. The Klamath River begins in the high desert of southern Oregon, and the average flow at Keno
(about 20 miles below Upper Klamath Lake
) is 1590 cuft/s (with 10000 cuft/s classified as an "extreme event"). A Klamath Diversion at this point would be simple—an aqueduct running south to Shasta Lake
—but the flow in the river is not enough to warrant a diversion. As the river drops into northern California and passes through the Klamath Mountains
, however, the climate becomes far wetter and the river swells in volume as it approaches the coast. The average flow at the mouth is 17010 cuft/s: over 10 times the flow at Klamath Falls. Diverting the Klamath along this stretch would increase the water supply enormously, but ringed by the peaks of the Klamath Mountains, an aqueduct running out of this basin would be difficult to construct.
, and be about 70 miles (112.7 km) long, with a 40 miles (64.4 km)-long Trinity River arm that would also extend up both its forks. A tunnel would take water out of the reservoir in the arm formed by the Trinity River Canyon, and dump it into the Sacramento River; from there it would travel to the San Joaquin Valley
and Southern California through the proposed Peripheral Canal
(which would surmount the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta) and the California Aqueduct
.
Klamath River
The Klamath River is an American river that flows southwest through Oregon and northern California, cutting through the Cascade Range to empty into the Pacific Ocean. The river drains an extensive watershed of almost that stretches from the high desert country of the Great Basin to the temperate...
in Northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to the more arid southern part of that state. By providing increased water supply to Southern California, it was proposed that it would allow for other Southwestern states—Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
and Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
—as well as Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
could receive an increased share of the waters of the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
.
The diversion would have involved building a dam a short distance from the mouth of the Klamath River, as well as on the Trinity
Trinity River (California)
The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley...
and some of its tributaries. A tunnel would have carried much of the Klamath's water to the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, whose flow would be routed around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and travel under the Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains , regionally also called The Tehachapis, are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States...
to the Los Angeles Basin
Los Angeles Basin
The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the Peninsular and Transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
. The Klamath River is one of the western continental United States' most important salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
-run rivers, and building the diversion would have all but destroyed the salmon run and fishery. Both commercial fishermen and Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
—namely the Yurok—opposed the plan, as did the city of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. The city saw the Klamath Diversion as a "ploy to encourage it to relinquish its claim on the share of the river [the Colorado] it considered its own".
Background
The beginning of the rapid expansion of the American Southwest in the 1920s and 1930s coincided with a wet period that swelled the Colorado River's flow to around 17000000 acre.ft per year, thus causing extreme overestimation of its flow. At that time, there was ample amount for all the Southwest states and Mexico, and the following decades saw the construction of massive dams—Hoover DamHoover Dam
Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
and Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam
Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona in the United States, just north of Page. The dam was built to provide hydroelectricity and flow regulation from the upper Colorado River Basin to the lower. Its reservoir is called Lake Powell, and is the second...
—in the river's canyon. Eventually, the region spun out of its wet spell, and the river's flow dropped to around 14500000 acre.ft per year. The U.S. had originally settled an agreement with Mexico—1000000 acre.ft annually. This great reduction in water supply spurred Southern California to look north to the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
area for water. This, however, was not enough, as some flow must be allowed into the delta to prevent its destruction by saltwater.
Eventually, not only the Sacramento but its major tributaries such as the Feather
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
and American
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
; the San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
and its tributaries in the south, were all being exploited to their maximum capacity, primarily for irrigation purposes. The Klamath was California's only remaining major river that was not already being exploited in this manner. Not counting smaller rivers in Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
such as the Rogue
Rogue River (Oregon)
The Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...
and Umpqua
Umpqua River
The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...
, the closest rivers that provided a sufficient flow were the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
in the north and its tributary the Snake
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
. The Klamath River was not only closer, but has over twice the flow of either the Rogue or Umpqua, and over one-third of the discharge of the Snake.
Another major problem was the climate of the Klamath River watershed. The Klamath River begins in the high desert of southern Oregon, and the average flow at Keno
Keno, Oregon
Keno is an unincorporated community in Klamath County, Oregon, United States, southwest of Klamath Falls on the Klamath River near Oregon Route 66. As of 2000, the population was 1,059. Keno's elevation is 4,108 feet....
(about 20 miles below Upper Klamath Lake
Upper Klamath Lake
Upper Klamath Lake is a large, shallow freshwater lake east of the Cascade Range in south central Oregon in the United States. The largest freshwater body in Oregon, it is approximately 20 mi long and 8 mi wide and extends northwest from the city of Klamath Falls...
) is 1590 cuft/s (with 10000 cuft/s classified as an "extreme event"). A Klamath Diversion at this point would be simple—an aqueduct running south to Shasta Lake
Shasta Lake
Shasta Lake, also called Lake Shasta, is an artificial lake created by the construction of Shasta Dam across the Sacramento River in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest of Shasta County, California...
—but the flow in the river is not enough to warrant a diversion. As the river drops into northern California and passes through the Klamath Mountains
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
, however, the climate becomes far wetter and the river swells in volume as it approaches the coast. The average flow at the mouth is 17010 cuft/s: over 10 times the flow at Klamath Falls. Diverting the Klamath along this stretch would increase the water supply enormously, but ringed by the peaks of the Klamath Mountains, an aqueduct running out of this basin would be difficult to construct.
Project description
In general, the Klamath Diversion would have consisted of one large reservoir—the Ah Pah Reservoir at this point on the main Klamath. The Ah Pah Reservoir would be formed by the 813 feet (247.8 m)-high Ah Pah DamAh Pah Dam
Ah Pah Dam was a dam on the Klamath River in the U.S. state of California proposed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation as part of its United Western Investigation study in 1951. It was to have been high and was to be located upstream of the river's mouth. It would stand almost as tall as...
, and be about 70 miles (112.7 km) long, with a 40 miles (64.4 km)-long Trinity River arm that would also extend up both its forks. A tunnel would take water out of the reservoir in the arm formed by the Trinity River Canyon, and dump it into the Sacramento River; from there it would travel to the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
and Southern California through the proposed Peripheral Canal
Peripheral Canal
A Peripheral Canal has been proposed to divert water from the Sacramento River, through the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta...
(which would surmount the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta) and the California Aqueduct
California Aqueduct
The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern- and Central California to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the...
.