Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5036
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2006–5036
With the development of the Project in the early 1900s, the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuges have become highly regulated systems. Water enters the two refuges by a variety of pathways, which include precipitation, natural runoff, ground-water seepage, pipes, and irrigation canals. Water leaves the refuges through open-water evaporation, evapotranspiration, drainage canals, and ground-water seepage (fig. 2).
Project water enters the Lower Klamath refuge through the Ady Canal and through the D Pumping Plant. Natural surface-water flow enters the refuge from Sheepy, Cottonwood, and Willow Creeks. Combined mean annual flow from these three creeks is approximately 30 ft3/s on the basis of miscellaneous flow measurements made throughout water year 1955 (Wood, 1960). However, these flows have decreased because of ground-water pumping on private lands outside of the refuge within the last 50 years. Flow from the D Pumping Plant enters the Lower Klamath refuge via the P Canal, located on the eastern boundary of the refuge. P Canal flows, along with flows from the Ady Canal, are used to flood 40–50 refuge units. Units are defined land areas within the refuges that are managed for a specific purpose and in a specific way. For example, some units are permanently flooded wetlands, whereas other units are flooded seasonally. Seasonally flooded units typically are filled in the autumn and drained during the following spring or summer. Other units are leased to private farmers and used for grain or hay production. Although most of the Lower Klamath refuge is located south of State Line Road (California Hwy 161) in California, a portion of the refuge, known as the Area K Lease Lands, is located on the northern side of the State Line Road. Those units are leased to private farmers for grain production. In addition to open-water evaporation, evapotranspiration from areas of terrestrial or aquatic vegetation, and ground-water seepage, water also leaves the refuge northward through the Klamath Straits Drain. From the refuge, flow in the drain is pumped through the E-EE and F-FF Pumping Plants to the Klamath River.
The Tule Lake refuge comprises four major sumps: Sump 1A, Sump 1B, Sump 2, and Sump 3 (fig. 1). Sump 1A is a permanent open-water body with a minimum and maximum water elevation of 4,034 and 4,035.5 ft above NGVD29, respectively. The minimum elevation is maintained under Endangered Species Act (ESA) guidelines for Lost River and shortnose sucker habitat protection. One source of water entering Sump 1A is the Lost River, which is regulated by the Anderson-Rose Diversion Dam. Flow also is pumped into Sump 1A from drainage canals in the Tulelake Irrigation District (TID) close to the refuge boundary of the sump. TID return flows also enter the sump through shallow ground-water seepage in this same area. Additional surface-water flow enters Sump 1A via the N Canal, which is located along the eastern and northeastern boundary of the refuge. When water in Sump 1A rises above the maximum elevation, it is pumped to the Lower Klamath refuge via the D Pumping Plant and through a tunnel under Sheepy Ridge. Water also is sent to the Lower Klamath refuge at other times when deliveries are requested by refuge managers. Smaller water volumes from Sump 1A also are used as water supply for agriculture and wildlife habitat needs in the adjoining Sumps 2 and 3. Sump 1B is hydrologically connected to Sump 1A through a narrow, gated canal. For many years, Sump 1B was managed as a permanent open-water body. However, in recent years Sump 1B has been managed as either a year-round water body or sometimes a seasonal wetland through regulation of the flow in the canal separating the two sumps.
Almost all of the Sump 2 and 3 lands are leased to private farmers for grain production. However, approximately 5–10 percent of the units in these two sumps are rotated every year between grain production, permanent flooding (an entire year), and seasonal flooding. Sump 2 receives water from Sumps 1A and 1B through the Q and R Canals. Drainage water from Sump 2 is pumped back into Sump 1A. Most water for Sump 3 is delivered through the N Canal. A smaller volume of water for Sump 3 comes from Sump 1A. Drainage water is pumped out of Sump 3 back into the N Canal and Sumps 1A and 1B.
To improve their understanding of water management for the Tule Lake refuge, the USFWS developed a surface-water budget for the refuge (Tim Mayer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, written commun., 2005). Data used in the budget analysis were based on pump flow records and miscellaneous surface-water stream and canal flow measurements made by the BOR, USFWS, and Tulelake Irrigation District from 1988 to 1998. Because of limited available documentation regarding data from these agencies, it is acknowledged that potential error could be significant. By USGS surface-water flow measurement standards, these data would be rated as “poor,” with errors greater than 15 percent.
The USFWS surface water-budget analysis for Sumps 1A and 1B had a residual of approximately –30,300 acre-ft/yr (–41.8 ft3/s), Sump 2 had a residual close to zero, and Sump 3 had a residual of approximately 11,300 acre-ft/yr (15.6 ft3/s). For the entire Tule Lake refuge, there was a net surface-water flow residual of –19,000 acre-ft/yr (26.2 ft3/s). These residuals, or differences between surface-water inflow and outflow, are the result of both surface-water flow measurement error and probable unmeasured ground-water inflow and outflow. For each residual, the proportion attributed to surface-water measurement error versus the proportion attributed to ground-water flow is unknown. Possible ground-water inflow and outflow suggested by the residuals in the USFWS surface-water budget analysis is consistent with the general northwestern to southeastern ground-water flow direction for the region surrounding the refuge. On average, the ground-water table of the Lower Klamath refuge is approximately 50–60 ft higher than the Tule Lake refuge. As a result, there is a significant ground-water gradient underneath Sheepy Ridge, which indicates potential ground-water flow from Lower Klamath refuge into Sump 1A. Although not confirmed, it is possible that there is ground-water discharge through diffuse seepage or submerged springs into Sump 1A near the base of Sheepy Ridge. For Sump 3, it is possible that the surplus water leaves the sump through seepage into the ground-water system. Because the entire Tule Lake refuge was once a natural lake, the construction of deep drainage canals in Sump 3 may have increased seepage rates by penetrating through the less permeable sedimentary soil layers near the surface.
For more information about USGS activities in Oregon, visit the USGS Oregon Water Science Center home page.
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