Latest news with #OdessaGroundwaterReplacementProject
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Odessa groundwater project secures nearly $45 million in infrastructure funding
May 30—Eastern Washington farmers are set to gain a more reliable water source, thanks to a $45 million state investment in a major irrigation project. The Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project has secured nearly $45 million in the state capital budget to address declining aquifer levels and support agricultural sustainability in Grant, Adams and Lincoln counties. The project will take 36 deep wells offline and deliver surface water from the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District's East Low Canal to more than 17,000 acres of farmland in the Columbia Basin. The project is also supported by $40 million in matching funds from local growers. Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, said the current water solution is unreliable for local farmers and growers. This advancement, he said, will give them more opportunity in crop growth. "If the water table drops while you're having a crop in the field, your pump may run dry," Schmick said, who's been involved in the project since 2007. "You don't know from week to week whether the water is going to be beyond the reach of your wealth. If it drops below the end of the pipe, so to speak, you're not going to get any water." Schmick further explained this will boost food production and bring food security across the state. "You can go from a low-value crop, such as wheat, and you're now able to produce high-value crops, like potatoes, beans and other crops that are considerably more valuable, and when there's more value, oftentimes it brings along more jobs, more opportunities," he said. Echoing Schmick on the current water situation, Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, noted that by midsummer, some wells begin to pump sand because of groundwater depletion. Having a reliable water supply not only supports agricultural growth and stability, but keeps local residents in the area long term. "We have to build communities here, and it's all built around the water," Dent said. "You have families, children and grandchildren. It's all tied together; it's all tied to the water," he said. "Without the water, it all changes."
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Money allocated for irrigation project north of I-90
Apr. 30—MOSES LAKE — About $44 million in state funding will be allocated to a section of the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project as part of the Washington Senate's capital budget. The budget was approved Sunday. The allocation comes with the proviso that it be spent on one section of the project, EL 22.1. The OGWRP project is designed to convert farms that use groundwater for irrigation to surface water. Most of the property that would be affected is considered to be part of the Odessa aquifer. The land that would be served by the new canal is east of Moses Lake and north of Warden in Grant and Adams counties. The irrigation water would be provided by the East Columbia Irrigation District, and Jon Erickson, ECBID development coordinator, said there are still some questions to be answered about how the irrigation district will and can proceed. "We don't have a clear direction on how to move forward," Erickson said. The allocation and the stipulations around it will be reviewed by the ECBID directors, beginning with their May 7 meeting, Erickson said. The EL 22.1 Landowners Association, which was involved in obtaining the funding, said the project is fully designed. "Construction would begin early next year, and the timing depends somewhat on when the public funding is made available," said an EL 22.1 spokesperson in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. The project will receive about $40 million in matching funds from area farmers, according to a press release from Ninth District Senator Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville. Schoesler said he worked with 13th District Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake. "With this capital budget funding and the matching money from growers, this project is ready to start," Warnick said. "(The landowner group) is in the process of obtaining the matching funding and with the public funding now allocated, the private matching funding should happen in 2026," the spokesperson said. "(The private funding) could be used in later phases as the legislature included in the budget proviso that the EL 22.1 Project could be done in phases." The project would be the first in the groundwater replacement area north of Interstate 90, according to the landowner group. Some sections of the project south of I-90 can't have water delivered due to the need to widen the canal, which will require widening some bridges along the canal's course. Planning and design are underway on the first bridge, with construction scheduled to begin in October after the end of the irrigation season. The canal and bridges north of I-90 were widened about half a century ago, the EL 22.1 spokesman said, so there's capacity for additional water delivery. "Consequently, work on EL 22.1 can begin as surface water delivery is assured," the spokesman said.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Odessa groundwater funding in proposed Senate budget
Apr. 4—OLYMPIA — A funding request for a section of the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project has been added to the proposed Senate capital budget. If it's included in the final capital budget, the EL 22.1 lateral would receive up to $44 million in funding at the request of Ninth District Senator Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville. The OGWRP is a long-running effort to supply surface water to replace the groundwater wells in use for irrigation in a section of the Columbia Basin Project known as the Odessa Subarea. The Senate Ways and Means Committee reviewed the request Thursday afternoon, after press time. If the committee approves it, it will be considered by the whole Senate Saturday. "It aims to ensure a stable water supply for farmers, which is crucial to maintaining or even expanding their farming operations in that region. The funding in the Senate capital budget will help this project continue to move forward," Schoesler said. Schoesler, the Republican leader in the capital budget process, said he appreciated the assistance of 13th District Senator Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake. "Senator Warnick has been very important in making sure other legislators realize how important the Odessa water project is and helping to ensure the necessary funding," he said. "In the course of developing the Senate capital budget these past few months, I emphasized how important it is to provide strong funding for the Odessa groundwater program and other water programs in Eastern Washington," Schoesler said. "I'm thankful that the rest of the senators working with me on the capital budget request agreed." The Senate request also provides $53 million for Yakima River Basin Water Supply Program and $13 million for the Yakima-Tieton Canal. The canal was damaged by wildfire. The capital budget funds the construction and maintenance of assets statewide, including K-12 and higher education projects, state facilities, parks, water infrastructure and public lands, among other things. "(The Senate proposal) lives within our means while doing a good job addressing needs throughout Washington," Schoesler said. "Many K-12 education projects are funded. It strongly funds fish hatcheries and is a good budget for water projects, as well as housing and other needs."
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Bridge and two Adams Co. roads scheduled for work in 2025
Feb. 26—RITZVILLE — Sections of two Adams County roads were closed on an emergency basis following wet and windy weather. Others are subject to closure as spring approaches. The section of Longmeier Road between Franz and Lee roads was closed, along with Lauer Road from Franz to Harder roads. Public Works Director Todd O'Brien told Adams County Commissioners Tuesday that some roads will not be passable while the ground is thawing but not dry. A map of road closures is available on the public works website. Bigger projects are planned once the weather warms up enough for construction. Adams County Engineer Scott Yaeger said one project started last fall and is still ongoing. Construction — or in this case, reconstruction — began in October 2024 on a section of Lind-Hatton Road. Yaeger said in an earlier interview that the section under construction is about five miles north of State Route 26 between South Damon Road and Phillips Road to the BNSF railroad crossing. The section of road under construction was closed over the winter. The work did stop over the winter; it's scheduled to start in March 2025, with the entire project taking through June 2026, Yaeger wrote in response to an email from the Columbia Basin Herald. The cost for that section of the rebuild is about $3.12 million. Major work is planned on Schoonover Road about eight miles west of Ritzville. Among other places, it links Ritzville and Odessa. The first phase is scheduled to start in late June and be completed by October. "This is a reconstruction that is widening (the road), with a new subbase and surfacing with asphalt, drainage facilities and safety rail where needed," Yaeger said. The project cost is about $3.13 million. Adams County officials will start work in late October on the bridge at Sackman Road near Othello. It's part of a much larger project to rebuild bridges in Adams County to allow widening of the East Low Canal. Yaeger said the work will start once the canal is drained for the winter and should be completed by spring 2026. Cost is about $4.8 million. The new bridge will span the canal without piers in the water, instead being supported by abutments, called girders, anchored to the shore. The abutment and the bridge deck will be precast and assembled onsite. The bridge deck is made of precast panels which will be installed separately and then joined with concrete and a tie system. Rebuilding bridges along the canal is part of the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project, which involves Adams and Grant counties, the Columbia Basin Development League, other organizations and federal and state agencies. Sara Higgins, CBDL president, said in an earlier interview that the goal is to end the reliance on groundwater wells for irrigation in the Odessa region of the Columbia Basin Project. Irrigators in that section have been using groundwater wells since the 1960s when the development of the overall project stopped, which has put pressure on the underlying aquifer. The project involves widening two bridges in Grant County and six in Adams County. The remaining five bridges in Adams County are along the canal northwest of Othello on Providence Road, Booker Road, Herman Road, Foley Road and Cunningham Road.
