Working together towards locally based solutions to energy issues, water management issues, and
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ProgramsKWAPA is an interstate, intergovernmental agency formed to: (1) develop and implement a plan to align water supply and demand for the irrigation districts and landowners generally within the Klamath Reclamation Project on an annual and on-going basis, conduct investigations related to the management of water resources, and generally act to provide beneficial water management; and (2) to coordinate studies relating to the acquisition of generation and transmission facilities for electrical energy, coordinate transmission service over various facilities, including those of the United States and the charges for such transmission service and the policies governing such transmission, coordinate and maintain reserve generating and transmitting capacity, coordinate the sale of surplus capacity of energy, coordinate the purchase of energy and the allocation of tax credits, funds, and other resources available to offset the cost of electrical energy, and provide coordination in the realization of benefits of any program or activity intended to minimize the overall cost of electricity for irrigation and drainage in the Klamath Reclamation Project. Current programs include:
WATER USERS MITIGATION PROGRAM (WUMP)Cooperative Agreement between Dept. of Interior (Bureau of Reclamation) and the Klamath Water and Power Agency. The objective of WUMP is to allow stakeholders to develop market-based approaches to developing groundwater supplies and other innovative means of providing Klamath Project water supplies. Supplementation of water for the Klamath Project is necessary due to increased deliveries for fish and wildlife purposes required by ESA. The additional water maintained in Upper Klamath Lake for suckers and the increased flow requirements in the Klamath River for coho salmon are also causes for the need to supplement water supply. KWAPA works with the Klamath Basin Bureau of Reclamation Office, Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD), Klamath Project Irrigation Districts, and others to determine the best value and deliverability of water being made available for Project use. The 2010 program included Land Idling and Groundwater Pumping to supplement water supply as did the 2012 program.
2013 Groundwater Pumping Program:Klamath Water and Power agency is no longer taking applications for participation in Groundwater Pumping Program to help align surface water supply with demand. Land must have been located within Klamath Reclamation Project boundaries and normally irrigated with surface water from Upper Klamath Lake or the Klamath River, be five contiguous acres and meet additional criteria. Participants in the Groundwater Pumping Program now have the option to select the payment structure of either the 2012 Groundwater Pumping Program which incentivizes for pump efficiency, or the 2013 program which will cover the full cost of power plus $10 per acre-foot water produced from the well.
2013 Demand Management (Land Idling) Program:
KWAPA is soliciting offers for voluntary partial season demand management (land idling) of parcels of five or more acres located within Klamath Reclamation Project boundaries, currently irrigating with surface water from Upper Klamath Lake or the Klamath River, and growing alfalfa, pasture, or grass hay. Irrigation is allowed until the implementation date of June 25, 2013. (Lands authorized for participation in another KWAPA 2013 supplementation program, are not eligible to apply). Application Deadline: 12:00 p.m. on Friday, May 31, 2013 In addition to the above Partial Season Demand Management, other demand management programs include a couple of full season programs.
ON-PROJECT WATER PLAN (OPP)Cooperative Agreement between Dept. of Interior (Bureau of Reclamation) and the Klamath Water and Power Agency. The purpose of the Agreement is to address issues facing the irrigators of the Klamath Project relating to the terms of the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA). Section 15.2.1 of the KBRA states “the purpose of the On Project Plan for the Klamath Reclamation Project is to align water supply and demand…” see document at: http://kwua.org/sites/kwua.org/files/k.pdf. Representatives of the diverse communities in the Klamath Basin, working with federal, state, and county governments, have developed the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) to rebuild fisheries, sustain agricultural communities, and resolve longstanding disputes related to the allocation of water resources. Relevant key provisions of the KBRA include:
In order for the water user community to be able to operate their business successfully, while coping with the negotiated limitation on water diversions described in the first bullet point above, the KBRA parties also provided for the development of the “On Project Plan” (KBRA section 15).
As per the requirements of the KBRA, KWAPA is charged with developing and implementing the On Project Plan (OPP). The purpose of the OPP is to reduce the need for diversion of water from Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River to align water use in the Klamath Reclamation Project to targets set in the KBRA. It is the goal of KWAPA to accomplish this purpose with the least reduction in crops produced. This Plan will align water supply and demand within the Klamath Project and will include elements of at least the following:
KWAPA recently solicited for Statement of Qualifications from qualified engineering firms. The KWAPA OPP Review Committee interviewed the top 3 qualified firms who submitted a proposal and the Board of Directors approved the top scoring firm. KWAPA awarded a consultant contract in July 2011 to MBK Engineers and partnering firms (Houston Engineering, CH2MHILL and Dan Keppen & Associates) to take lead on the development of the On Project Plan. The OPP is being developed on a “build-as-you-go” approach to accommodate input from its irrigation constituents, partners, and OPP stakeholders. They will achieve this by using a series of Technical Memorandums (TMs) that will build upon one another and culminate in a summary document. The OPP Work Group recently completed TM1, which was unanimously approved by the OPPAC in September and is awaiting approval of the KWAPA Board of Directors at the November Board meeting. See OPP Work Group and OPPAC member lists below. TM1 discusses the following:
On Project Plan Work Group Hollie Cannon (KWAPA) Cathy Waters (KWAPA) Greg Addington (KWUA) Ed Bair (KWAPA and Klamath Basin Iirrigation District) Dave Cacka (Klamath Irrigation District) Bill Heiney (KWAPA and Tulelake Irrigation District) Bill Ganong (KWAPA Legal Counsel) Paul Simmons (KWUA & KWAPA Legal Counsel) Marc Van Camp – Consultant Team (MBK Engineers) Mark Deutschman – Consultant Team (Houston Engineering, Inc.) Mark Oliver – Consultant Team (CH2MHILL) Dan Keppen – Consultant Team (Dan Keppen & Associates)
On Project Plan Advisory Committee The purpose of the OPPAC is to assist with the developing the OPP using an open, transparent and collaborative inter-district approach. The OPPAC will provide guidance and advice to KWAPA staff and consultants during preparation of the OPP. The OPPAC will also make recommendations as needed to the KWPA Board of Directors, including whether to approve and accept the final OPP. OPPAC Members:
For further developments and insight to the project, please see the OPPortunities Volume I newsletter: October 2011 OPPortunities newsletter, Volume I, Issue I February 2012 OPPortunities Newsletter, Volume I, Issue 2 April 2012 OPPortunities Newsletter, Volume I, Issue 3 September 2012 OPPortunities Newsletter, Volume I, Issue 4 March 2013 OPPortunities Newsletter, Volume 1, Issue 5
POWER NETWORK INTERCONNECTION PLANNING SERVICESA Cooperative Agreement between the Klamath Water and Power Agency (KWAPA) and the Department of the Interior (Bureau of Reclamation). The purpose of the Agreement is to address issues facing the Klamath Basin and the Reclamation’s Klamath Project (Project), including energy and power supply infrastructure, scheduling, and power rate pricing structures. The objective for the Planning Services is to develop a comprehensive Power and Energy Supply and Network Interconnection Plan for the Klamath Basin and the Project to provide for increased water use efficiency and conservation of water for protection of Endangered Species Act listed and tribal trust species, as identified in the Klamath Basin Restoration Act (KBRA). The Plan will provide the information necessary to obtain and provide for the cost-effective transmission and delivery of Federal preference power to serve all eligible On-Project Power Users and Off-Project Power Users meters as authorized by Applicable Law and described in the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement (KBRA) in sections 17.6 and 5.3 (acquiring Federal power). KWAPA and the “Management Entity” were formed to administer benefits of the Power for Water Management Program in Section 17. The “Management Entity” has been established as the Klamath Basin Power Alliance (KBPA). Klamath Project Background Irrigation water use in the Upper Klamath Basin includes land within the Project and “Off-Project” land, generally located in areas tributary to Upper Klamath Lake and upstream of the Project. The Project is located in the Upper Klamath River and Lost River sub-basins in southern Oregon and northern California. The Project provides irrigation water for both agricultural and National Wildlife Refuge lands and provides flood control along the Klamath River, both in the immediate area of the Project and also downstream of the Project. Two watersheds comprise the Project area: the Klamath River watershed, which is the largest, and the Lost River watershed, which is collectively comprised of the Clear Lake, Malone, and Gerber (Miller Creek) watersheds. Construction of the Project was authorized by the Secretary of the Interior on May 15, 1905, in accordance with the Reclamation Act (43 U.S.C. § 372 et seq., Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat. 388). The Project works originally constructed by Reclamation, along with other works constructed by Reclamation contractors, generally provide water to approximately 210,000 acres of agricultural lands in Klamath County, Oregon, and Siskiyou and Modoc Counties, California, and provides both direct and incidental water supplies and deliveries to Lower Klamath, Tule Lake, and Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuges. Principal crops raised on Project lands include: alfalfa, irrigated pasture, small grains, potatoes, and various specialty crops. Wildlife benefits derived from Project operations include over 20,000 acres of seasonal and permanent marsh as well as benefits derived from agricultural activities (i.e., grain feed, shelter, habitat in canals, etc.). Irrigated Off-Project lands, with some exceptions, generally receive water through privately developed systems. A considerable portion of the Off-Project land is in alfalfa and pasture, although other crops are also grown. Low-cost electricity is significant for the operation of irrigated lands in the Upper Klamath Basin. Unlike various other Reclamation projects, the Project was not ultimately developed to include power generation. Instead, Reclamation contracted with Copco (predecessor of PacifiCorp) in 1917, and again in 1956, for low-cost power for all irrigation-related uses in the Project area. Copco also contracted in 1956 to deliver low-cost power for Off-Project irrigation. The Reclamation-Copco contract expired in 2006 with the expiration of the FERC license for PacifiCorp’s hydropower project on the Klamath River. There are legal proceedings related to the contract for Off-Project irrigation, but the Oregon Public Utilities Commission has determined that it is no longer in effect. Development of the Power Interconnection Plan (PIC) will: 1) Provide lower power costs as compared to paying full tariff power rates. These lower power costs will also result in lower production costs for the irrigation community and therefore lower commodity prices and provide a stable agricultural community. 2) Provide key component of securing power from Bonneville Power Administration which is integral to the success of the KBRA. 3) Provide lower power costs that, in theory, will result in irrigators continuing to use higher efficiency sprinkler irrigation over flood irrigation techniques. This will result in more water remaining in Upper Klamath Lake to meet the needs of the endangered suckers and provide the additional flows to meet needs of endangered coho salmon. KWAPA recently solicited for Statement of Qualifications/Requests for Proposals from qualified engineering firms. Their project proposals are due to KWAPA on May 24, 2011. The Development Outline for the Power Interconnect Operations Plan is now available for review. Click here to view the community video meeting: Power Network Interconnection Community Meeting
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| © Klamath Water & Power Agency (KWAPA) // 735 Commercial St, Suite 4000 // PO Box 1282 // Klamath Falls, OR 97601 // Phone: (541) 850-2503 // Fax: (541) 883-8893 Pictures and maps are courtesy of Klamath Water Users Association | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
