Off-channel water storage legislation 'significant' for central Washington

COLUMBIA BASIN — This week is the week to talk about water.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will hold its first open house for public input into a study about the Odessa Sub-Area Wednesday at the ATEC Building, with a session in the morning and one in the afternoon.

As background information on the Reclamation Web site states, the study will investigate the possibility of continuing development of the Columbia Basin Project to deliver project water to lands currently using groundwater in the Odessa Sub-Area. The aquifer is declining to the extent that farmers' ability to irrigate their crops is at risk. Domestic, commercial, municipal and industrial uses are also affected.

Study manager Ellen Berggren explained that the last year has been spent organizing the study to determine what kind of technical expertise is needed. The open house will give community members the opportunity to talk with various Reclamation technical team members, learn what information they have and offer feedback about various issues they feel need to be considered.

"We understand it's a major concern for people in the area and this gives them the opportunity to be involved," Berggren said.

"It's a great opportunity for people to get acquainted with the folks running the study and give them any ideas," said Columbia Basin Development League chair Roger Thieme of the open house. "At this point, they're taking all the public input they can possibly get, then they will start the process of winnowing it down to a couple preferred alternatives."

The league held a workshop Wednesday evening to help prepare the information it will submit to Reclamation to include in the study, reviewing the items the league has been presented with in different formats and developing a list of ideas, suggestions and proposals. The league will submit a packet to the study team.

Also Wednesday, consultant Mike Schwisow gave an hour-long presentation on efforts to get major water legislation passed.

One of the important items, Thieme said, is the potential for borrowing authority for the state to be able to invest as much as $200 million in projects along the Columbia River, much of which is aimed at generating off-channel storage to help equalize the flow of the river through the entire year. It would mean more stream withdrawals along the river, so it's "extremely significant" for central Washington, Thieme noted.

He added that since the Columbia Basin Project is a Reclamation project, the rules are different for water withdrawal and conveyance than they might be for a private project.

"We're very fortunate in this new water legislation to be able to get the specific language included that gives Reclamation the same flexibility that they have today," Thieme said, adding the league was active, through Schwisow, in getting that language included. "From the project standpoint, that water law is nothing but good news. There isn't anything there that would in any way hinder the process going forward."