Klamath Dam Removal Plan Stokes Contention Over Water

Largest US dam removal stirs debate over coveted West water (from @AP) Finally managed to get this previously reported story on Klamath River dams out amid coronavirus mayhem! https://t.co/EIflZSOAYz

— Gillian Flaccus (@gflaccus) March 29, 2020

Interesting piece from the Associated Press over the potential removal of four Klamath River dams, a plan that would be great news for salmon but maybe not so much for everyone with something at stake.

Here’s a little bit from AP reporter Gillian Flaccus: 

Under under the demolition plan, $200 million will come from California and Oregon ratepayers, and $250 million will come from a voter-approved California water bond, with no liability for PacifiCorp.

For the region’s tribes, the push to remove the dams is much more than financial calculus.

“I actually credit a lot of our men and women’s depression to the fact that they fish for days and days and days and days and don’t catch anything,” said Georgiana Gensaw, who is Yurok and lives on the reservation. “We want to bring salmon home.”

Coho salmon from the Klamath River are listed as threatened under federal and California law, and their population in the river has fallen anywhere from 52% to 95%. Spring chinook, once the Klamath Basin’s largest run, has dwindled by 98%.

It’s a really informative read about how a such massive project could impact homeowners and farmers down the line, plus a lot more about salmon.