KOBI NBC 5

(3/09/10) Governor Kulongoski is vowing to help residents of the Klamath Basin deal with potential drought conditions that may come as early as this summer. Record low water levels on Upper Klamath Lake will likely result in farmers getting much less water this summer. The governor met today with federal agency members, farmers, and tribal members to focus on coping with that shortage. "The reason I’m here is to listen… and to collaborate with you about how to address the significant water shortage that's in the basin." Dave Solem of the Klamath Irrigation District says the way things are shaping up he’s expecting the worst. "It’s going to be bad.  I mean, we are so far behind on lake levels, and not much prospect for a lot of inflow.. it's very hard to say exactly how it's going to all shake out." In the past water shortage issues in the Klamath Basin caused near riot conditions when local irrigators actively protested a government directive to divert water to protect fish in the Klamath River.