Klamath Basin Receives $50M Lifeline: Federal Funds to Combat Drought and Boost Water Resilience

KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. — Oregon’s U.S. senators, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, announced this week that the Klamath Basin will receive a $50 million federal grant to support irrigators facing prolonged drought conditions.

Klamath Basin Drought Relief Funding

A new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Bureau of Reclamation, the Klamath Water Users Association (KWUA), and the Klamath Project Drought Response Agency (KPDRA) provides for funding today to support the region’s farmers and ranchers.

The senators’ release said,  “The agreement cements a shared commitment between the groups to work together to improve water supply and reliability for the Klamath Project.”

The $50 million in federal funds will be allocated across the following:

• The KPDRA: $25 million will aid in creating contracts with producers who commit to not irrigating a part of their acres. The funding will also help create new practices, for example, grain planting in the fall instead of the spring.
• Permanent demand reduction programs: $10 million will go towards producers who agree to reduce their irrigation water use voluntarily. Non-commercial areas, for example, turf replacement on football and soccer fields, will be prioritized.
• Wildlife benefit programs: $8 million allocated.
• Keno and Link River Dams Fish by planning projects: $7 million allocated.

Merkley confirmed that long-term drought has severe impacts on all Klamath Basin communities, harming everything from ecosystems to the economy and everyday life.

He said, “Continued direct federal investments like this to support drought resiliency efforts and strengthen water supply and reliability in the Basin are essential to make the unique region’s water go farther for families, farmers, ranchers, Tribes, fish, and vital ecosystems.”