Calif. Farmers Sue Over Water Releases For Salmon

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Farmers in California's San Joaquin Valley are suing the federal government over the planned release of water from a Northern California reservoir to prevent a salmon kill in the lower Klamath River.

The suit alleges the release from the Trinity Reservoir would be unlawful and would further decrease the little water available to farmers for irrigation. It was filed by the Westlands Water District and the San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority against the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on Wednesday.

The bureau has said it plans to release Trinity water from August 13 until the end of September. The proposal comes after tens of thousands of fall chinook salmon died in the Klamath in 2002 because there was not enough water for them to swim upstream.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.