10/11/06 Meeting on Odessa subarea water

Washington Ag October 11, 2006 The Bureau of Reclamation recently released a report identifying options for replacing groundwater use within the Odessa Ground Water Management Subarea with surface water from the Columbia Basin Project. Reclamation is hosting an information meeting to discuss those alternatives tonight at 7 pm at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake at the ATEC Center. William Gray, deputy area manager outlines some of the delivery alternatives. Gray: "The first one is to build an East High Canal and size that to serve the current area within the Columbia Basin Project boundary that is irrigated by the Odessa sub wells. That's about 121-thousand acres if you go with that alternative. The second alternative is to develop just the northern portion of the East High Canal and then enlarge the East Low Canal and also construct it a bit longer, extend the East Low Canal. And that one also would handle the full 121-thousand acres that are irrigated by deep wells within the project boundaries." The third option is to extend and enlarge the East Low Canal which Gray says would provide water for about 78-thousand acres. The last option would construct the East Low Canal to capacity to Interstate 90 and use laterals to serve what you could in the Odessa Subarea. I'm Bob Hoff.