Tuesday, August 23, 2022

California warns farmers and ranchers to stop diverting water as thousands of fish in Klamath River die

The Associated Press reports, dateline Happy Camp, California, population 905.  

California has warned a group of farmers and ranchers near the Oregon state line to stop diverting water from an area already wracked by extreme drought and a wildfire that killed tens of thousands of fish.

The State Water Resources Control Board issued a draft cease-and-desist order Friday to the Shasta Water Assn., warning it to stop taking water from the Shasta River watershed.

The association has 20 days to request a hearing or the order becomes final and could subject the organization to fines of up to $10,000 a day, according to the state water agency.

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Since last year, the state agency has curtailed water use in the watershed in order to keep water flowing in the Shasta River, a main tributary of the Klamath River and a nursery for a fragile and federally protected salmon species.

Prior posts about the Klamath River basin are here.  The pieces most closely related to today's news are these.   

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