KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — Klamath Project irrigators will be receiving more water this summer than first provided.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has boosted the annual water allocation for farmers and ranchers from Upper Klamath Lake by roughly 20%, from 215,000 acre-feet to 260,000 acre-feet, as outlined in the agency’s 2023 annual operations plan for the project.

Allocations from Gerber and Clear Lake reservoirs remain the same, at 35,000 acre-feet each.

At the same time, Reclamation says more water is also available to benefit threatened and endangered fish, including coho salmon in the lower Klamath River and two species of sucker fish in Upper Klamath Lake.

Agency officials initially forecast 215,000 acre-feet of water for the Klamath Project on April 13. The updated allocation of 260,000 acre-feet was announced on May 19 and is based on improved spring hydrologic conditions.

As of May 22, snowpack in the Klamath Basin measured 217% of average compared to the last 30 years, according to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Overall precipitation is 102% of average for the water year dating back to Oct. 1, 2022.

“We are thankful more water is available to meet the needs of Klamath Basin communities while also meeting the needs of endangered species,” said Ernest Conant, California-Great Basin regional director for Reclamation. “Although we are not seeing a return to normal expectations for snow and rain, we are pleased that conditions are on the upswing after three consecutive years of extreme drought.”

The agency recently issued its 2023 operations plan for the Klamath Project, covering 230,000 acres in Southern Oregon and Northern California.

The plan, which runs from April 1 through Sept. 30, is based on a broader interim management strategy that divvies up water based on total supply and minimum requirements for coho salmon in the Klamath River, as well as Lost River and shortnose suckers — also known as C’waam and Koptu — in Upper Klamath Lake.

Klamath River coho are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, while both species of suckers are listed as endangered.

Water for salmon is budgeted by Reclamation in what it calls the “Environmental Water Account,” diverting water from Upper Klamath Lake downriver to satisfy minimum in-stream flows. That account was also increased this summer from 400,000 acre-feet to 462,000 acre-feet.

Reclamation already met its ESA-required water elevation of 4,142 feet in Upper Klamath Lake on April 1, which allows a particular subspecies of C’waam to access critical shoreline spawning and rearing habitat.

The agency claims it is on target to meet its end-of-year water elevation target of 4,139.2 feet in the lake.

While the increased Klamath Project allocation is an improvement over the last several years — irrigators received an initial allotment of just 50,000 acre-feet in 2022, and the A Canal was shut down entirely in 2021 — it is still well short of meeting full demand.

The Klamath Water Users Association and tribes alike have accused Reclamation of mismanaging the project, albeit to different ends.

Paul Simmons, executive director of the KWUA, said in a statement that this summer’s project supply is “significantly less than called for” under the government’s own allocation formula, a decision he described as “entirely political.”

“It is at least positive that today’s annual plan provides more water than the preliminary allocation announced in mid-April,” Simmons said.

On May 10, a district judge in California heard arguments in a case where the Yurok Tribe and several fishing groups sought a preliminary injunction that would have prevented Reclamation from delivering any water to the Klamath Project unless it could demonstrate it was meeting all ESA obligations.

Judge William Orrick did not issue an injunction, but ordered Reclamation to file its 2023 operations plan with the court. The plaintiffs now have two weeks to enter new objections.