Environment

More Klamath Misery: now it's an asphalt spill

By Tom Chandler 8/20/2006

We recently pointed you towards a Blogfish post about the Toxic Green Sludge currently hammering the Klamath. I talked to people in town who had gotten sick on the Klamath because of the toxin, and it looks like a disaster in the making.

Barely had the ink dried on that post than up pops another Blogfish post detailing a major spill of "asphalt emulsion" from an overturned truck. The accident ocurred near Hamburg, and has spread as far as Happy Camp. Holy crap, batman.

Blogfish is right - it's the Klamath's turn to serve as the world's pinata.

klamath, spill, asphalt emulsion, Blogfish
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

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Mark; Great to have you here. As for PacifiCorp, they publicly stated the five dams on the Klamath system were "negotiable" though nobody's sure what it means. Click here to read the story in the Mt. Shasta Herald.
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Good stuff here, and it's great to bump into people who care absout rivers and fish! Regarding PacifiCorp and dams, they just made it through relicensing the North Umpqua River hydrosystem. All 7 dams and 40+ miles of nearly dewaterd river and creek channels remain intact, despite hopes and optimism from a few years ago. Yes, partial restoration is happening, with more water in natural channels and ... more less in canals and pipes. But they could have done better IMO. Mark
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We heard about this Friday at work. Fortunately that stuff does congeal once it gets in water so that limits its spread and makes cleanup easier. Hard to say how much it will affect the fish. Hopefully they wont be affected much. One thing that is a plus is that this happened now rather than say mid September when there are a lot more half pounder and adult steelies and fall run Chinook salmon in ... more the river. As for the algae problems. The only way that will be resolved is if the dams are decommissioned. Most folks involved with the Klamath Basin fish and water quality issues are cautiously optimistic about this happening eventually. Brian
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