The value of irrigation water varies enormously across the Upper Klamath Basin

Abstract

In order to understand the economics of the 2001 irrigation curtailment in the Upper Klamath Basin, and the prospects for lower-cost solutions to future irrigation shortfalls, one must appreciate just how much the economic value of irrigation water varies from one piece of land to another throughout the Upper Basin. In any given location, the net revenue from irrigated agriculture depends fundamentally on the productivity of the soil—the main factor that determines what crops can be grown. Irrigated soils in the Upper Basin range from Class II (most productive) to Class V (least productive). These differences in soil quality (and climatic conditions) produce net revenues that vary by a factor of 20.