Increased Water Storage

Increased Water Storage. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

Making sure there is enough water for dryland crops is a topic that has garnered the attention of Washington Congressman Doc Hastings. The Congressman recently participated in the first meeting of the 2009 Work Group on Yakima Basin Water Enhancement. It has been an uphill struggle.

HASTINGS: The fact is that the Bureau of Reclamation is designed by definition to reclaim land. Unfortunately their study as to storage within the Yakima Basin concluded differently and that’s mainly because of the criteria they had to look at.

Water storage in the Eastern Washington area consists of 5 reservoirs and Hastings says that things have changed.

HASTINGS: I was very pleased by the effort of local people trying to enhance storage within the Yakima Basin. The fact still remains that we haven’t built any storage since the 1930’s and obviously the basin has grown a great deal and demands are greater.

Hastings has successfully included $1.5 million to support the groups efforts in the annual Energy and Water spending bill that is making its way through Congress.  It may be considered and voted upon by the full House shortly, with final action on the bill anticipated in September. The Work Group hopes to make a recommendation soon.

HASTINGS: I don’t want to anticipate what they may or may not do but obviously this is federal involvement and we’ll work with them but whatever it is has to have a strong storage component.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.