The EL 86.4 system is delivering Columbia River surface water to farmers in the Odessa subarea via the East Low Canal for the first time this year, instead of growers relying on declining deep well irrigation.

Construction on the system began in May 2024 and the first deliveries were made April 1.

The EL 86.4 represents nearly 5,500 acres.

The shift has eliminated the use of 16 wells, effectively conserving more than 16,000 acre-feet, or 5.3 billion gallons, of water annually in the Odessa Subarea Aquifer, according to the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District.

It’s the latest step in replacing ground water with river water, “to take some pressure off the aquifer,” said Craig Simpson, irrigation district secretary-manager.

Simpson points to “significant” state funds from the Washington Department of Ecology’s Office of the Columbia River, and some funding from landowners, to develop the newest delivery facility.

The district will host a public celebration May 5 for the EL 86.4 system.

It’s the second newest system for the district. The EL 47.5, which became operational in 2020, was the first major addition in nearly 50 years.

84.7 and 80.6 systems are next

Construction on the EL 84.7 and EL 80.6 systems will begin in the near future, Simpson said.

The 84.7 system represents more than 7,100 acres; the 80.6 system represents more than 5,800 acres.

The numbers represent the mileage downstream of the bifurcation, which is where the East Low  Canal and West Canal split off from the Main Canal.

Designs are basically completed. Easements are complete on the 84.7 and still in the works on the 80.6 system.

“It’s a timing thing,” Simpson said.

Between state and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services’ Regional Conservation Partnership Program funding, those systems are essentially fully funded. Some landowner contributions are expected, he noted.

“It’ll be a small fraction of the overall cost, the majority of it is paid for by state and federal grants,” Simpson said.

The state and federal funding provided roughly $70 million for the 86.4, 84.7 and 80.6 systems.

90,000 acres total; 33,000 remaining

The district has total authority over 90,000 acres worth of Odessa groundwater replacement contracts. About 33,000 acres remain that aren’t designated for an existing plan or design.

The district is organizing landowner requests to determine the best starting points for delivery systems for those acres, Simpson said.

Meetings with landowners will be “soon,” he said. “We’ve got a lot going on right now. We’re not a really huge organization, so the same people have to do almost all that stuff.”

Simpson expects to deliver to all 90,000 acres, so long as the momentum and funding continue.

The new systems are much closer to the canal, and easier to design, fund and construct because they’re not as large, he said.

“I’m going to (say) within 10 years, because the systems we’re looking at are much more simple than they were when we started the process 13 years ago,” he said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen.”