Water shutoff leaves Klamath farmers scrambling to save crops
For Mike McKoen, a year of uncertainty farming in the Klamath Project has become a fight to the finish. With onion harvest fast approaching, McKoen had been counting on a steady supply of water from Upper Klamath Lake to irrigate his fields at a critical point in the growing season. Otherwise, he risks the crop dying in the ground and his investment turning to dust. Then came the Aug. 19 announcement from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The project had run out of water for the summer, despite farmers’ arguments to the contrary. All remaining water in the system was needed to protect endangered fish, according to the agency.