A proposed recycled water project in Klamath Falls may be either hugely beneficial or a major disaster, depending on whom you ask. A class D recycled water project is being proposed by Klamath Falls’ South Suburban Sanitary District in order to help meet new regulations put in place by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. But the proposal has been met with a good deal of opposition recently from numerous Klamath Falls residents, many of whom have organized to form the group United Neighbors Against Wastewater Intrusion.

The recycled water project would mean the construction of a 95 acre storage reservoir and a six-mile, 18-inch pipeline to carry recycled water from the treatment facility to the reservoir. The recycled water would be used to irrigate approximately 550 acres of fodder crops, like alfalfa and hay. The properties subject to irrigation with the recycled water are located east of Highway 39, north of Short Road, east and west of Reeder Road and south of the OC&E Trail, according to the Klamath County Planning Department.