2005 Project Operations Plan Because 2005 is the third driest year on record all basin farmers are being asked to voluntarily reduce consumption by 15 percent. The Bureau has been releasing water from the Water Bank to supplement river flows since February. As in the past, the water bank is comprised of land idling and groundwater pumping.
In March 2005, the Government Accountability Office published an analysis of BOR’s management of the Klamath Basin Water Bank to meet Klamath Project irrigation demands and Klamath River flow requirements for threatened salmon from 2002 – 2011. The report addresses (1) how Reclamation operated the water bank and its cost from 2002 through 2004, (2) whether Reclamation met its annual water bank obligations each year, (3) the water bank’s impact on water availability and use in the Klamath River Basin, and (4) alternative approaches for achieving the water bank’s objectives. GAO recommends that BOR improve the information provided to stakeholders by systematically providing public information on management decisions and the water bank’s status. Klamath River Basin: Reclamation Met Its Water Bank Obligations, but Information Provided to Water Bank Stakeholders Could be Improved.