2016-2017 Klamath Water Measurement

The summary for the 2016-2017 Klamath Water Measurement grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Bureau of Reclamation, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

2016-2017 Klamath Water Measurement: The upper Klamath Basin spans the Oregon-California border from the flank of the Cascade Range eastward to the high desert. Although much of the basin is high desert, the region receives considerable precipitation in the Cascade Range and uplands to the east. Streamflow and groundwater discharge sustains numerous perennial streams, large shallow lakes, and extensive wetlands, including the Klamath River, which has historically supported anadromous fish runs. Water in the basin is used for agricultural irrigation, for extensive waterfowl refuges, and to support aquatic wildlife in lakes and streams in the upper basin and downstream (Gannett and others, 2007). The agricultural economy of the upper Klamath Basin relies on irrigation water. Just over 500,000 acres are irrigated in the upper Klamath Basin, about 190,000 acres of which are within the Klamath Project developed and operated or supervised by the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) (Burt and Freeman, 2003; Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2004). The principal source of water for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) Klamath Project is Upper Klamath Lake (UKL). In recent years, Endangered Species Act biological opinions have required Reclamation to maintain water in Upper Klamath Lake to protect habitat for endangered fish (specifically the Lost River and short nose suckers) and at the same time maintain specified stream flows or water volumes in the Klamath River below the lake and project diversions to provide habitat for listed salmon. The surface water has been relied upon as the primary water source for the Klamath irrigation community, and has led to many hardships during recent periods of increased drought. A better understanding of these drought conditions and how to forecast inflows and manage water resources during droughts is becoming increasingly important in the Klamath Basin. This grant, supported by drought-relief funding, will be used for improving the stream inflow forecast methodology, and provide an improved instrumentation device measurement standard for the basin to be implemented so that Reclamation can better meet its mission of managing water. RECIPIENT INVOLVEMENT 1. Participating in regulation water quantification 1.1. Assist the USGS in regulation water quantification, through hiring and supervision of a consultant, and administering the consultant contract 1.2. Participate with the consultant and the USGS in regulation water quantification 2. Providing technical assistance to Reclamation 2.1. Assist with inflow/streamflow forecast improvement, through hiring and supervision of a consultant, and administering the consultant contract 2.2. Participate with the consultant and the USGS with inflow/streamflow forecast improvement 3. Participating in the Upper Klamath Water Measurement Coordination Group 3.1. Assist the Upper Klamath Water Measurement Coordination Group, through hiring and supervision of a consultant, and administering the consultant contract 3.2. Participate in the Upper Klamath Water Measurement Coordination Group RECLAMATION INVOLVEMENT No substantial involvement on the part of Reclamation is anticipated for the successful completion of the objectives to be funded by this award. It is anticipated that Reclamation's involvement will consist of standard federal stewardship responsibilities such as monitoring project performance, technical assistance at the request of the recipient, etc. SINGLE-SOURCE JUSTIFICATION Reclamation did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria: (4) UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS Single Source Justification Description: The activity to be funded is for KWUA to assist the USGS in the technical analyses for regulation water quantification, inflow/streamflow forecast improvement, and to participate on an Upper Klamath Basin Water Measurement Coordination Group for assisting with the evaluation of sites for the installation of improved water measurement. KWUA will engage a consultant to participate and funding will be used for payment, or reimbursement of payment, to the consultation. The long history of Klamath Water Users Association in the Klamath Basin provides it the background to make sound recommendations to the water community and to assist in present and future decisions for water forecasting and measurement. STATUTORY AUTHORITY Public Law 106-498 Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000 Public Law 106-498 To authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to conduct certain feasibility studies to augment water supplies for the Klamath Project, Oregon and California, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “Klamath Basin Water Supply Enhancement Act of 2000”. SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION TO CONDUCT FEASIBILITY STUDIES. In order to help meet the growing water needs in the Klamath River Basin, to improve water quality, to facilitate the efforts of the State of Oregon to resolve water rights claims in the Upper Klamath River Basin including facilitation of Klamath tribal water rights claims, and to reduce conflicts over water between the Upper and Lower Klamath Basins, the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter referred to as the ``Secretary'') is authorized and directed, in consultation with affected State, local and tribal interests, stakeholder groups and the interested public, to engage in feasibility studies of the following proposals related to the Upper Klamath Basin and the Klamath Project, a Federal reclamation project in Oregon and California: (1) Increasing the storage capacity, and/or the yield of the Klamath Project facilities while improving water quality, consistent with the protection of fish and wildlife. (2) The potential for development of additional Klamath Basin groundwater supplies to improve water quantity and quality, including the effect of such groundwater development on non-project lands, groundwater and surface water supplies, and fish and wildlife. (3) The potential for further innovations in the use of existing water resources, or market-based approaches, in order to meet growing water needs consistent with State water law. SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL STUDIES. (a) Nonproject Lands.--The Secretary may enter into an agreement with the Oregon Department of Water Resources to fund studies relating to the water supply needs of nonproject lands in the Upper Klamath Basin. (b) Surveys.--To further the purposes of this Act, the Secretary is authorized to compile information on native fish species in the Upper Klamath River Basin, upstream of Upper Klamath Lake. [[Page 114 STAT. 2222]] Wherever possible, the Secretary should use data already developed by Federal agencies and other stakeholders in the Basin. (c) Hydrologic Studies.--The Secretary is directed to complete ongoing hydrologic surveys in the Klamath River Basin currently being conducted by the United States Geological Survey. (d) <<NOTE: Deadline.>> Reporting Requirements.--The Secretary shall submit the findings of the studies conducted under section 2 and section 3(a) of this Act to the Congress within 90 days of each study's completion, together with any recommendations for projects. SEC. 4. LIMITATION. Activities funded under this Act shall not be considered a supplemental or additional benefit under the Act of June 17, 1902 (82 Stat. 388) and all Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto. SEC.5. WATER RIGHTS Nothing in this Act shall be construed to-- (1) create, by implication or otherwise, any reserved water right or other right to the use of water; (2) invalidate, preempt, or create any exception to State water law or an interstate compact governing water; (3) alter the rights of any State to any appropriated share of the waters of any body or surface or groundwater, whether determined by past or future interstate compacts or by past or future legislative or final judicial allocations; (4) preempt or modify any State or Federal law or interstate compact dealing with water quality or disposal; or (5) confer upon any non-Federal entity the ability to exercise any Federal right to the waters of any stream or to any groundwater resources. SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. There are authorized such sums as necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Activities conducted under this Act shall be nonreimbursable and nonreturnable. Approved November 9, 2000.