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 says 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.”
Monica Carrillo-Casas is a Murrow News fellow for Spokane Public Radio and The Spokesman-Review. All stories produced by Murrow Local News fellows can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. Image rights may vary.