Quincy irrigation district opposes reservoir site

Board requests removal from consideration due to impact

QUINCY - Potential loss of ground has a Quincy-based irrigation district taking a position of opposition over a possible water reservoir site.

According to a statement issued last week, the Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District Board of Directors supports the state in developing a program for the mainstem of the Columbia River allowing access to its water resources while specific storage projects are identified for feasibility studies.

Through the off-channel storage assessment pre-appraisal portion of the mainstem storage study, four sites along the Columbia River were identified for appraisal-level study. Two sites lie within the boundaries of the irrigation district - Lower Crab Creek and Sand Hollow.

The board took a position at their March meeting to "strongly oppose" consideration of Sand Hollow as a viable reservoir site, and is asking for withdrawal of consideration of the site.

According to a spokesperson, the board supports future development of the Columbia Basin Project, but if Sand Hollow is selected as a possible site considered for feasibility-level study, the potential exists to eliminate thousands of acres of irrigable ground within the district.

Through a Memorandum of Understanding with the state and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the board supports a study for off-site locations for large reservoirs, district Secretary-Manager Darvin Fales said.

"What the board is saying is the impact the Quincy district would feel if Sand Hollow reservoir is selected is strong enough they are asking it not be studied anymore or it be withdrawn from consideration," he explained.

The Lower Crab Creek site would impact the district on a much smaller scale, Fales said, and the board specifically did not include it.

The decision to oppose was based on the loss of irrigable acreage in the district, potential damage to constructed irrigation conveyance and drainage facilities and adverse economic impact on the district and its water users, the spokesperson states.

The study is expected to be completed in the next few weeks and released in May. Fales said he understands the study would not pick a site, but would give the pros and cons of each of the four sties.

"This is just a statement saying it should not be considered when it gets to that level," he said.

The next step is a full-fledged feasibility study, Fales said, which requires Congressional authorization.

Bureau Special Projects Officer Jim Blanchard said the irrigation district board's position does not impact the study.

"The bureau doesn't have plans, per se," he said. "We are under contract from the state of Washington to produce this report, and so we will complete that contract and issue the report. What happens after that point in time, my guess would be the position of the district will be taken into consideration."

The Columbia Basin Development League sponsored a meeting in February in Royal City, hearing from a number of concerned residents on the Royal Slope about both the Crab Creek and the Sand Hollow sites. The potential loss of land had many worried about their homes and farms, the reaction from the banking community and the loss of customers for local businesses.

For league Executive Secretary Alice Parker, the board's decision and statement came prematurely, as she believes Sand Hollow is going to fall off the map based on conversation with individuals connected to the study.

"if they had waited another week, this would have been taken care of without doing all of this," she said.

There are still quite a few steps before a final decision is made, Parker noted.

"It's like what I told everybody down here at the meeting, 'You guys are all concerned about this, but we don't know that it's going to happen yet,'" she said. "Just wait until the study comes out and when they get to final study (of) what will happen. Of course, we still don't know that's going to happen, because once they narrow it down, then they will have to go to Congress and get authorization even to do the study. The Royal City people are all concerned, but it was maybe not necessary to be quite so concerned."