Klamath Water Users and Tribes Negotiate Removal of Warren Buffett’s Dams That Poison Local Communities and Result in Public Hea

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Craig Tucker
Spokesperson, Karuk Tribe

Water samples from Copco and Iron Gate Reservoirs contain extremely high levels of the toxic blue-green algae Microcystis aeruginosa for the third consecutive year since monitoring began in 2005. Microcystis aeruginosa produces the toxin microcystin which is known to cause liver failure and promote tumor growth. Microcystin exposure can lead to organ failure and death.

The reservoirs are located on the Klamath River near the Oregon border between Ashland, OR and Yreka, CA. The dams are owned by PacifiCorp, a subsidiary of Buffett’s Mid American Energy Holdings Company.

“Although Siskiyou County officials have the responsibility to inform and protect the public from exposure, it’s not their fault these blooms are occurring. Warren Buffett’s dams are to blame,” according Leaf Hillman, Vice Chair of the Karuk Tribe.

Recently officials from the California Water Quality Control Board and the Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment formed a Blue Green Algae (BGA) Work Group. The BGA Work Group recently published a document to provide guidance to local health officials dealing with toxic algae blooms. Samples taken recently from Klamath reservoirs contained cell counts approximately 100 times greater than the threshold at which the BGA Work Group’s document recommends posting alerts to the public.

According to the BGA Work Group Document, when the probability of adverse health affects are high, typical actions by local authorities includes “immediate action to control contact with scums including prohibition of swimming and other water contact activities.”

The blooms occur in the summer as the shallow, nutrient rich water trapped behind the dams heats up and thus provides an optimal environment for the algae to bloom. For years, down river Tribes, fishermen, and conservation groups have called for the removal of the dams to restore runs of salmon that are in dramatic decline and alleviate the toxic blooms.