Projects

Aquatic Weed Problem


Aquatic weed growth in irrigation ditch systems is a problem throughout the world. Aquatic weeds grow in all canals, laterals and drainage ditches and create water delivery problems throughout the Klamath Project if left un-managed. Management options are limited and expensive. There are approximately 200 miles of irrigation ditches and approximately 200 miles of drainage ditches within Klamath Irrigation District alone to demonstrate how large the problem is. KID also operates 7 pumping plants which have trash grates similar to the grates in the photo below. When the weed problem is at its worst, these grates have to be cleaned 3 to 4 times a day.The picture was taken July 13, 2012 at the C Hydro Plant. This photo shows a small part of a much larger aquatic weed problem which exists in the A canal. During parts of June and July, the aquatic weeds start to break loose in the A canal and travel through all of the canals, laterals and headgates which are served by the A canal. The pile of aquatic weeds above was accumulated in just one day (24 hours) on one set of grates only. There are two sets of grates here.