Completion of the federal Columbia Basin Project will be the subject of several October meetings hosted by the Columbia Basin Development League.

The first meeting, “What Does Columbia Basin Project Completion Look Like?” will be Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. at the Connell, Wash., Community Center,  and 2:30 p.m. at Columbia Valley Grange No. 938 in Pasco, Wash.

The second, “How Would Columbia Basin Project Completion Happen?” will be Oct. 17 at the same times and locations.

Register to attend the meetings

https://www.cbdl.org/community-convenings/

“There has never been a better time,” said Sara Higgins, the league’s executive director. “Food security is increasingly a national topic of concern, especially as we witness significant climate events negatively impacting agricultural production in other parts of the United States. The Columbia Basin Project is uniquely positioned to be part of the solution.”

Congress first authorized the project in 1943, intending to deliver water from the Columbia River to 1.03 million acres of farmland.

To date, about 680,000 acres have received water, said Mike Schwisow, director of government relations for the league.

In the meantime, in the mid-1970s, the Washington Department of Ecology allowed farmers in the Odessa Subarea to drill irrigation wells to obtain water temporarily until another major portion of the project, the East High Canal, could be built.

But it was never built. Groundwater pumping continued, and today those wells are running out of water.

Current efforts aim to replace groundwater on 87,500 acres of farmland, but another 300,000 acres could be developed, Higgins said.

Schwisow estimates several hundred farmers are in the uncompleted portion of the project.

When the Odessa Subarea Special Study was completed more than 10 years ago, one proposed alternative for replacing groundwater with project surface water included construction of the East High Canal.

“At the time, the estimated price tag for that was in the billions,” Higgins said.

The cost can only be determined once all of the studies are completed and a construction option is selected, she said.

As a federal project, development and completion are subject to a prescribed, step-by-step process, she said.

“We want to convey that a process exists and we hope that meeting attendees walk away with a better understanding of what the process involves,” she said.

Project completion is the league’s ultimate goal, Higgins said.

“If someone has interest in (project) completion, these meetings will be worthwhile, but they won’t provide all the answers,” she said. “Rather, it is our hope that they clarify how we think about project completion and that they inform productive discussion around the topic.”

https://www.usbr.gov/pn/grandcoulee/cbp/index.html

https://www.cbdl.org/