MOSES LAKE — Construction will start sometime this winter on a project to convert additional acreage from groundwater irrigation to surface water in a section of Grant County. Columbia Basin Conservation District officials announced Monday that the project has received a $9.23 million grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

The project has already received about $57 million in funding from state sources, said Kristina Ribellia, CBCD executive director.  

Kristina Ribellia said the federal money is allocated to building out the irrigation system along a section of the canal east of Moses Lake, called EL 22.1. The project will transfer about 17,324 acres from groundwater to the canal system, she said. 

Jon Erickson, development coordinator for the East Columbia Irrigation District, said the federal funding must be spent for EL 22.1 infrastructure.  

"It will be for the construction of the public infrastructure," Ribellia said, along with some infrastructure for individual farms.  

"It's the largest Odessa-area system that's coming off the canal," she said.  

Jon Erickson said the first phase is already underway. 

"That is the project that is active right now. We are currently getting ready to go to bid," Erickson said.  

"It's a very aggressive plan," Ribellia said.  

The first phase is the construction of a reservoir along the East High Canal, called a sump, that will provide the water for the pump facility. The canal must be empty for that work, Ribellia said. 

"It'll be ready to have the (pump) plant built on top of it by the time the water comes on next year," Erickson said.  

The rest of the project doesn't depend on the irrigation season, he said, so the work can continue year-round after the first phase. Erickson cautioned that there's some work to do before farms in the project area are fully converted from groundwater.  

"There are still hurdles that the East District has to go through," he said. "Water deliveries from this plant are still a few years away." 

Irrigation district officials must obtain easements from landowners along the pipeline routes, Erickson said, and must sign water contracts with potential customers as construction continues.  

The area is part of the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project, which has been in development for many years. 

Many of the existing groundwater wells tap into the aquifer that also provides water for most of the municipalities in the Columbia Basin. Most of the water pumped from the aquifer is used for irrigation, and as the region grows, the overall demand on the aquifer has led to declining water levels.  

The goal of OGWRP is to convert the farmland within the project to surface water irrigation. Erickson said EL22.1 is one of two fully designed systems, with another seven in the design phase.