Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
The Klamath Project is a water-management project developed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to supply farmers with irrigation water and farmland in the Klamath Basin. The project also supplies water to the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. The project was one of the first to be developed by the Reclamation Service, which later became the Bureau of Reclamation.
The two main water supply sources for the project are Upper Klamath Lake and the Klamath River. The main bodies of water in the Klamath Project are Clear Lake Reservoir, Klamath River, Link River, Lost River, Lower Klamath Lake, Tule Lake, and Upper Klamath Lake. The project fills these reservoirs from the spring runoff, peaking generally in March and April, and keeps the runoff from flooding the historical marshes that are a large portion of the present farmland. There are also many minor streams in the area. Lost River historically drained into Tule Lake, an endorheic lake. The project now diverts excess Lost River water to the Klamath River, allowing portions of Tule Lake to be reclaimed.
Some 225,000 acres (91,000 ha) of rangeland have been transformed into active farmland through the Klamath Project. Of that total, 80,000 acres (32,000 ha) were recovered by draining a portion of Lower Klamath Lake, a shallow marsh straddling the Oregon-California border between the California towns of Dorris and Tulelake. Tule Lake was also reduced in size by diverting water from Lost River to the Klamath River.Farmers in the project raise barley, alfalfa hay, and other hay, oats, potatoes, and wheat. The Klamath Basin is on the Pacific Flyway and the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex is visited by migratory game birds every year.
The project should not be confused with the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project, a set of hydro dams on the mainstem of the Klamath operated by for-profit energy company PacifiCorp. The Link River Dam belongs to both.
The Link River Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Link River in the city of Klamath Falls, Oregon, United States. It was built in 1921 by the California Oregon Power Company (COPCO), the predecessor of PacifiCorp, which continues to operate the dam. The dam is owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.Link River Dam's reservoir, Klamath Lake, has a capacity of 873,000 acre-feet (1.077×109 m3). The project provides flood control, generates hydro power, and stores most of the water used for irrigation in the Klamath Reclamation Project. The dam is 22 feet (7 m) high and 435 feet (133 m) long.
Its two channels can allow one outflow of 3,000 ft³/s (85 m³/s) with 1,000 ft³/s (28 m³/s) through the Ankeny Canal, and another outflow of 290 ft³/s (8 m³/s) through the Keno Canal. Those channels feed PacifiCorp's two hydroelectric turbines located downstream and generate 151 MW. All the flow is ultimately diverted down the Link River into Lake Ewauna.
In 2004 PacifiCorp announced the Link River power projects would be abandoned, as the cost to repair the canal and pipeline supplying the power turbines is too high to be economically viable. As of 2014 the company intends to continue to run the plant, in the short term and at reduced output.