US District Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill ruled yesterday that water must be released from the Trinity Reservoir to prevent a salmon kill in the lower Klamath River. His ruling responded to a suit by San Joaquin Valley water interests to halt the releases to increase water available for agricultural irrigation via the Central Valley Project.
Judge O'Neill wrote,
"the flow augmentation releases are designed to prevent a potentially serious fish die off from impacting salmon populations entering the Klamath River estuary. There is no dispute and the record clearly reflects that the 2002 fish kill had severe impacts on commercial fishing interests, tribal fishing rights, and the ecology, and that another fish kill would likely have similar impacts."
However, he also ruled that because of the delay of water releases and recent change in environmental conditions, the amount of water needed to preserve the health of the fish had fallen by two thirds.
Environmental advocates, fishing interest groups, and tribal representatives hailed the ruling for its benefit to salmon populations and the economic well-being of the north coast. Representatives of the plaintiffs, the San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authorities and Westlands Water District, lauded the reduction in water to be released.
Judge O'Neill concluded,
"Both sides of this dispute represent significant public interests. ...the federal government has invested large sums of money into the restoration of the fisheries in question. Yet, it is equally true that the government has and continues to invest in the long-term viability of agriculture in the Central Valley. Neither side holds veto power over the other. Nevertheless, on balance, considering the significantly lower volume of water now projected to be involved and the potential and enormous risk to the fishery of doing nothing, the Court finds it in the public interest to permit the augmentation to proceed."