CBDL shares water project progress

Work continues near the Weber Siphon Complex near Moses Lake Thursday.

by Lynne Lynch<br> Herald Staff Writer
| July 16, 2010 1:00 PM

Work is currently underway at the Weber Siphon Complex, located 12 miles east of Moses Lake.

MOSES LAKE — Mike Schwisow, of the Columbia Basin Development League, provided an update about improvements to the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project Thursday.

Work is currently underway at the Weber Siphon Complex, located 12 miles east of Moses Lake.

Improving the Weber Siphon Complex is “the first incremental step for expansion,” of the irrigation project, he said during his talk at the Grant County Economic Development Council’s quarterly luncheon.

“It will tremendously increase our ability to deliver water south of Interstate 90,” Schwisow commented.

Once completed, irrigation water is delivered to 10,000 acres now receiving water from deep wells.

Construction started in April and is expected to be completed in March 2012.

As part of the project, there are two siphon tubes waiting to be connected in that area, which are 14 feet, 8 inches in diameter.

In the 1960s, a tube was placed underneath Interstate 90, in anticipation of the irrigation project’s future expansion.

That way, the freeway won’t be disrupted during the current work, he said.

“When the stimulus program came around last year, we were shovel-ready,” he said.

Another project is the Potholes Supplemental Feed Route, which corrects a plumbing deficiency in the irrigation project.

The Potholes Reservoir holds surface and ground return flows.

Providing the fall water supply for the southern part of the irrigation district collides with water demand in the East Low service area.

With the feed route, water delivery is delivered from Pinto Dam into Crab Creek, instead of Moses Lake.

The plan for the irrigation project was for farmers and other users to receive project water and quit using deep wells for irrigation. Progress on expanding the project was stalled, though.

It was intended to take 77 years to complete the project.

Earlier this year, three Columbia Basin irrigation districts contacted ENTRIX to complete a study concerning the economic impacts of agriculture and irrigation in the project.

“We thought it was time to quantify this,” he commented.

It was found that on a five year average, crop value comes to $1.44 billion, output of goods and services to $3.67 billion, and the value to the state is $484 million.

A total of 38,900 jobs were reported as being connected to the industry.

The reason they continue working on the irrigation project is because of the impact to the economy.

With the restart of the project, Moses Lake Councilmember Dick Deane asked what can be done to maintain quality of life for residents, with the extra water coming through Moses Lake. He was concerned because of efforts to clean up the lake.

He mentioned that silt had previously appeared in the lake starting in the 1950s and he was concerned about the possibility of more silt.

Schwisow said the Bureau of Reclamation and the state Department of Ecology engaged the U.S. Geological Survey to analyze impacts on Moses Lake because of increased flows on Crab Creek. Study results are available online, he said.

It’s a difficult issue he hopes they can be engaged with.

Alice Parker of Royal City, the league’s former executive secretary, said some farmers recommend looking at the upper area of Crab Creek. The silt appears to be coming from dryland areas in the upper regions of Crab Creek, she said.

Another issue is the declining Odessa subarea aquifer, which supplies water to deep well farmers.

The Columbia Basin Groundwater Management Area examined the status of the aquifer and projected in 10 to 15 years, the aquifer could go away.

The release of the study’s draft environmental impact statement occurs shortly and the public is given the chance to provide input and comment, he said.

In the study, different alternative means of delivering water to deep well irrigators are examined.