Forecasts based on U.S. Geological Survey data predict that the Klamath Basin will only fulfill about a third of what鈥檚 needed for agriculture. The Upper Klamath Lake is more than a foot lower than it was this time last year, which was also a drought year.
The Klamath County commissioners voted Tuesday to issue a county-level drought declaration. The board voted to request that Gov. Kate Brown鈥檚 office issue a state-level drought declaration, which would open up financial resources for water users.
Klamath County Commissioner Donnie Boyd says the region got some snow fall this week, but it鈥檚 not enough.
鈥淲e are too late this year to recover from the situation we鈥檙e in,鈥� Boyd says. 鈥淲e get most of our moisture in December, January and February.鈥�
The basin has faced drought conditions almost every year this past decade.
鈥淲e鈥檙e coming off a bad year last year,鈥� says Klamath Water Users Association Deputy Director Mark Johnson. 鈥淪o the soil moisture is very low, and then the inflows to Upper Klamath Lake are some of the lowest on record, even with the snowpack.鈥�
