SECURE Water Act Section 9503(c)— Reclamation Climate Change and Water 2016

Chapter 5: Klamath River Basin. This summary chapter is part of the 2016 SECURE Water Act Report to Congress prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in accordance with Section 9503 of the SECURE Water Act. The 2016 SECURE Water Act Report follows and builds on the first SECURE Water Act Report, submitted to Congress in 2011,1 which characterized the impacts of warmer temperatures, changes to precipitation and snowpack, and changes to the timing and quantity of streamflow runoff across the West. This chapter provides a basin-specific summary for the Klamath River Basin.

The key study referred to in this chapter is the Klamath River Basin Study, which is being conducted through a partnership between Reclamation, Oregon’s Water Resources Department, and California’s Department of Water Resources to identify strategies to address current and future water demands in the basin. The Klamath River Basin Study is anticipated to be available in 2016. Because the Klamath River Basin Study is not yet complete, portions of this chapter are limited to a description of ongoing activities rather than final results. Additional information relevant to the Klamath River Basin, including the latest climate and hydrology projections for the basin, is included in Chapter 2: Hydrology and Climate Assessment.