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Watermaster outlines refuge transfers, creek restoration and regulator notices amid low snowpack
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Summary
Klamath County Watermaster Garrett Steensland updated commissioners on efforts to secure durable water to the Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge, a contentious transfer from the Wood River Basin to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sun Creek and Sand Creek restoration issues, and issuance of winter regulation notices as snowpack sits near 30% of the 30-year average.
Garrett Steensland, Klamath County’s watermaster, briefed commissioners on Feb. 4 about work to deliver sustainable water to the Lower Klamath Wildlife Refuge, local restoration projects and regulatory notices tied to low snowpack.
Steensland said his office is working with the Yurok tribes, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Klamath Drainage District staff and local partners on several concepts to get reliable water to the refuge. He told the board that a transfer of water from the Wood River Basin — property sold by Kurt Thomas and his family trust to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — had operated under a five-year temporary transfer and that Fish and Wildlife had reapplied for a new transfer now under review.
On basin conditions, Steensland said precipitation around Klamath Falls has been near the 30-year normal but that snow water equivalent is “about 30% of the 30-year record,” leaving the basin vulnerable if February and spring do not produce additional precipitation. He cautioned that low snowpack and warm temperatures create uncertainty for summer project allocations and domestic wells.
Steensland also described contentious local reactions to a Sun Creek reconnection project intended to restore trout passage; landowners and irrigators told the office they have observed increased bedload and sediment moving into the Wood River that they say has reduced flows and damaged spawning habitat. Steensland said elected representatives remain engaged with the Oregon Water Resources Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as those concerns continue to be worked through.
The office responded this month to a Sand Creek channel change that threatened West Boundary Road and nearby residents: staff rediverted flow into a canal, cleared debris with contractors, and reopened flows once conditions were safe, Steensland said.
Regarding regulation, Steensland said the office issued roughly 270–277 winter notices of regulation for stock and storage water rights and that summer notices can be as many as about 1,200 in a year. He added the office is incorporating additional physical-habitat flow requirements tied to salmon returns in some reaches and months and is updating regulatory tables and the public dashboard to reflect those changes.
Steensland closed by noting staff are evaluating a Wood River District recapture-and-reuse proposal covering about 2,300 acres that presents water-rights challenges but also possible water-quality and conservation benefits; staff and university partners have spent substantial time assessing feasibility.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about allocations and implementation timelines; Steensland referred some policy and legal timing questions to ongoing Bureau of Reclamation re-evaluation and consultation processes.
