11 FEBRUARY 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Alternative Irrigation System Moves Forward Adapted from Information by the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID) is the largest district in the state of Washington, with authorization to irrigate 472,000 acres. Currently, 169,000 acres are developed and managed by 4500 landowners within the federal Columbia Basin Project. Within the East Columbia Basin is the Odessa Subarea aquifer which is experiencing significant declines in groundwater levels. Many of the groundwater wells in the area are currently drilled to a depth of 800 to 1000 feet, with some as deep as 2100 feet. Some wells in the area have been reported out of production. Drilling deeper wells is not feasible because deeper water may not be available, may be potentially unusable, or may be too expensive to access. As a result of this decline, the ability of producers to irrigate their crops is at risk. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced three of seven Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) proposals submitted by the Columbia Basin Conservation District (CBCD) to the NRCS for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program (OGWRP) have been selected for funding, with awards totaling $39.9 million. The three proposals include $13.1 million for the EL 80.6 mainline extension and onfarm build-outs; $19.7 million for the EL 84.7 mainline extension and on-farm build-outs; and $7.2 million for the EL 86.4 on-farm build-outs. Now fully funded for construction, these three large-scale irrigation systems will conserve approximately 55,278 acre-feet of water in the Odessa aquifer each and replace approximately 18,426 acres of deep well irrigation with reliable Columbia River water through the Columbia Basin Project (CBP). Under this alternative, groundwater irrigation on 70,000 acres of land in the Odessa Subarea would be replaced in a one-to-one replacement with CBP water, of which 164,000 acre-feet would be new Columbia River diversions. “The Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program is a tremendous conservation project,” said Roylene Comes At Night, the state conservationist for the NRCS. “I was extremely excited for the future of conservation and agriculture to find out three of the OGWRP-related RCPP projects were funded with $39.9 million. Agriculture is a growing business in Washington, while in many states it is dying. With these funds as a partnership, we will ensure that it continues to grow in conservational sound ways. This goes to show how skilled and dedicated our partners are. Together, we’re going to see this project through to the end and not only conserve water quantity and enhance quality for our farmers in Central Washington yet save the Odessa Aquifer for all future generations to responsibly enjoy.” NRCS has a mission to deliver conservation solutions so agriculture producers can protect natural resources and feed a growing world. Among milestones in the work to rescue the Odessa Aquifer, ECBID was awarded NRCS Small Watershed Program funding for development of an NRCS-required OGWRP Watershed Plan to access additional NRCS funding for pump station and lateral design, as well as its construction. The CBCD is helping provide oversight of the plan. ECBID anticipates construction will begin with EL 86.4 before the next irrigation season, which is expected to be March 2024. Roylene Comes At Night, State Conservationist for NRCS Washington; Senator Judy Warnick; Representative Mary Dye; NRCS Chief Terry Cosby; Representative Tom Dent; Derek Sandison, director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture; Tom Tebb, director of the Department of Ecology’s Office of Columbia River ; Melissa Downes, technical & policy lead for Office of Columbia River. WTR Kov[i H[mm_rs Consistent Performance Innovative Piston Design Optimized for Long Stroke Engineered for Drillers’ Needs Fastest Drilling on Hard Rocks Enhanced Durability, Long Life Easy to Assemble and Service Try one - You’ll see the difference! 408-431-6000 kovaidrills.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDk4Mzk=