Yakima groundwater; Odessa sub-area special study
Washington Ag Today September 23, 2010 The U.S. Geological Survey says that a Yakima Basin Groundwater study confirms a substantial amount of water is lost to the river because of groundwater pumping and use. The report estimates, on average, ground water pumping reduces flows by 200 cubic feet per second by the time the Yakima River drains into the Columbia. The study was commissioned by the Washington Department of Ecology, the Yakama Nation and the Bureau of Reclamation. The Yakima Basin Water Enhancement Project work group is factoring results of the study in its efforts to develop additional water supplies to meet both current and future water demands including those for agriculture. Meanwhile on another water front, Mike Schwisow, Director of Government Relations for the Columbia Basin Development League, says a milestone is about to be reached in the Odessa-sub area special study, the effort to bring Columbia Basin Project water to deep well irrigators whose wells are drying up. Schwisow: “We are reaching the milestone. Sometime in late October Reclamation will release the draft environmental impact statement and planning report. They will do a 60-day comment period on that and then take all the comments they receive, respond to those, and complete the study and complete the study and complete it in 2011. And that will identify the feasible projects that are available that we can move forward on to start to bring Project water to those deep well irrigated lands.” The annual meeting of the Columbia Basin Development League is October 26th at the ATEC Building at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
