Gov. Christine Gregoire allocates $600,000 to find solutions to declining Columbia Basin aquifer

For Immediate Release: September 21, 2005

OLYMPIA � September 21, 2005 - Gov. Christine Gregoire has earmarked $600,000 from the state�s current capital budget to find ways to provide water to 170,000-acres of prime agricultural land in the central Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington.

The area is at risk of losing a water supply as a result of the sharp decline of the Odessa Aquifer.

"Agriculture is one of the main economic engines of our state and water is the life blood of central Washington's agricultural community," said Gov. Gregoire. "This project will keep our land irrigated and our farmers employed while we work toward the long-term solution of water storage."

In a meeting with the Columbia Basin Development League last week, Gov. Gregoire made the commitment for the allocation.

�This study is an important first step toward protecting the region�s economy,� said Roger Thieme, chairman of the Columbia Basin Development League. �The loss of this source of water would be devastating and time is running out. We appreciate the governor�s rapid action to provide this funding. The League is going to keep working with her and the members of the Columbia River Task Force to find a pragmatic solution to this crisis. There are some good relationships being built here.�

Farmers began tapping into the Odessa aquifer in the 1970s, providing deep-well irrigation to potato, alfalfa and corn crops in the central Columbia River Basin.

Recently the Odessa Aquifer has been dropping about 10 feet per year. Mining of the aquifer is occurring at a rate that outpaces its ability to recharge and, as a result, the cost of lifting water to irrigate fields is rapidly becoming economically infeasible.

�Gov. Gregoire recognizes the tremendous economic contributions these farms make to the state, and is committed to doing her share to correct this problem,� explained Ecology Director Jay Manning. �With that in mind, she has given us the go-ahead to work with the Bureau of Reclamation, Columbia Basin Project Irrigation Districts and the Columbia Basin Development League to find ways to continue providing an affordable supply of water to farmers while improving the health of the aquifer.�

In the 1970s, the state issued groundwater permits to farmers allowing them to draw water from the aquifer based on the premise that they would eventually be served by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation�s Columbia Basin Project. The Odessa ground water management sub-area was created by rule to allow groundwater use in anticipation of the continued development of the project, which would bring surface water to these irrigated farms.

The $600,000 grant is the first installment by the state in a cost-sharing effort with the federal government to find water-delivery solutions in the central Columbia Basin. The funds will be taken from a $6 million appropriation authorized this spring by the Legislature in support of feasibility studies related to storage and operational improvements focused on the Columbia Basin Project and the Columbia River.

The combined potential economic loss to the region would total approximately $630 million per year, including 3,600 jobs, were the affected acreage in the area devoted to potato production returned to dry land agricultural practices, according to a Washington State University study commissioned by the Washington State Potato Commission.

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Media contacts:
Joye Redfield-Wilder, Department of Ecology Public Information Manager, (509) 575-2610
Alice Parker, Columbia Basin Development League, (509) 346-9442

Ecology�s Web site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov


Broadcast version

Gov. Christine Gregoire has earmarked $600,000 from the state�s current capital budget to find ways to provide water to farmers who face shortages because of the sharp decline of the Odessa Aquifer.

Farmers began tapping into the Odessa Aquifer in the 1970s, providing deep-well irrigation to potato, alfalfa and corn crops in the central Columbia River Basin.

In recent years, the aquifer has been dropping at a rate of 10 feet per year.

The money will help support a study by US Bureau of Reclamation to find other sources of water for the Odessa-area farmers.