OGWRP
OGWRP
The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID) began to deliver water on the EL 86.4 system in April of 2025. This is the second irrigation system completed for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program (OGWRP). The first system, the EL 47.5, was completed in 2021. Two more systems, the EL 84.7 (6,209.8 acres) and the EL 80.6 system (5,862 acres) are expected to begin construction later in 2025.
The EL 86.4 has converted 5,426 acres from deep well irrigation to Columbia River surface water. This shift has eliminated the use of 16 wells; effectively conserving 16,143 acre-feet (5.3 billion gallons) of water annually in the Odessa Subarea Aquifer.
Construction on the system began in May 2024 and the first deliveries were made on April 1, 2025. The project is a result of funding included in the 2023 Capital Budget by the Washington State Legislature. The $32.8M in appropriations was allocated to assist in the design and construction of eligible delivery systems in the OGWRP to provide irrigation water to the acreage located within the Odessa Subarea Special Study. Of the eligible systems included in the funding package, the EL 86.4 system is the first to begin construction and will reduce the current normalized cost to landowners.
In February, we were thrilled to host a tour of the EL 86.4 for leaders who worked to advance OGWRP. Those in attendance included:
• Dick Erickson, retired ECBID Secretary-Manager
• Bill Gray, Reclamation Area/Field Office Manager
• Mike Schwisow, Government Affairs
• Merle Gibbons, retired GCPHA and SCBID Secretary-Manager
• WS Department of Ag Director Derek Sandison
• Wendy Christensen Reclamation, OSSS Project Manager
• Craig Simpson, ECBID Secretary-Manager
• Jon Erickson, ECBID Development Director
• Jennifer Korfiatis, ECBID Communications
Watch the full video here.
The ECBID Board of Directors held a public meeting on Friday, September 13 from 1-2:30 in the City of Moses Lake Auditorium to present their recommendations for allocating the remaining acres served by the public OGWRP system. The meeting was open to the public and the Board and staff answered questions.
Information gathered during the meeting and through two landowner surveys have helped the Board and staff analyze the projected acres served by the Board’s presented evaluation criteria.
The District is focused on fully replacing over 87,000 acres of groundwater withdrawals through OGWRP. With 27,000 acres currently contracted for groundwater replacement, 13,000 acres are funded and beginning construction by mid-2025. An additional 24,000 acres are currently at 90% design acceptance with partial funding. The District is also working on an additional 10,000 acres of conditionally-authorized groundwater replacement that will be served with conserved water.
Overview
More than 75 years ago, state and federal agencies began an effort to divert 3% of Columbia River water to over 1 million acres to irrigate farms and provide water to several municipalities within the project area.
This effort took place over many decades but was never completed, and today farmers in the Columbia Basin are still waiting for the promised Congressionally authorized irrigation water. As farmers waited, they were given permission to drill wells to access the water in the Odessa Subarea Aquifer. A non-replenishing aquifer, the Odessa is now dangerously close to running dry. Wells are failing, leaving irrigators and local communities without a reliable source of water, impacting local and state economies.
The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID) provides 170,993 acres of farmland with surface water from the Columbia River, but the District is authorized to cover up to 472,000 acres as part of Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project. Irrigators within the District that are not served by surface water have been relying on these wells to pull water from the Odessa Subarea Aquifer.
The Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program (OGWRP) is a regional effort that is building the necessary infrastructure for farmers to exchange valid state-issued Odessa groundwater rights for promised Columbia Basin Project water. This effort will allow these fertile lands to continue to produce food that feeds families around the corner, and around the world.
The OGWRP consists of 3 main stages:
- Upgrades to create additional canal flow capacity that maximizes existing infrastructure.
- Construction of lateral delivery systems to convey water from the East Low Canal to lands that are eligible under the OGWRP.
- On-farm improvements to extend irrigation delivery to individual farms with cost efficiencies and conservation benefits.
OGWRP Watershed Plan Update
Currently, the ECBID is partnering with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to develop a Watershed Plan, called the PL-566, that will help achieve the objectives of the OGWRP.
The ECBID was awarded $1 million through NRCS to develop a Watershed Plan that will design and implement large projects identified in the OGWRP. The District is pursuing a Watershed Plan to access PL-566 grants, to supplement and extend State funding contributions since the cost of the project will approach several hundred million dollars. While the project is still in the early phases, the District is implementing the Odessa Subarea Special Study’s Preferred Alternative to deliver groundwater replacement supplies to 70,000 acres, an additional 10,000 acres in the Lake Roosevelt Incremental Release Program (LRIRP) and 7,700 acres of conserved water. This will be done by improving irrigation conveyance infrastructure and building eight pressurized pipe distribution systems that will include 73 miles of piped canals.
The PL-566 program has three distinct stages. The first being the Preliminary Investigation Findings Report (PIFR) that NRCS conducted to ensure the proposal met the requirements of the PL-566 program. This allowed for the allocation of the grant funds for the Watershed Plan development. The second phase is creating a Watershed Plan that lists the covered projects and allows for the design and engineering of the project. The final phase is implementation of the covered projects as defined by the Watershed Plan.
A key advantage of the PL-566 program is that NRCS covers 100% of the costs associated with the PIFR, Watershed Plan creation, and project engineering. NRCS will then contribute up to 75% of the construction costs for projects covered by the Watershed Plan. The remaining 25% can come from non-federal matches such as state or local funds.
In April 2023, the Washington State Legislature passed a Capital Budget that included $32.8M in appropriations to assist in the planning, designing, engineering, development coordination, and construction of the OGWRP. This appropriation will be used to advance design and construction of up to five eligible delivery systems in the ECBID service District and will reduce the current normalized cost to landowners.
Since 2004, the State of Washington has invested more than $158 million, and the Bureau of Reclamation more than $45 million, in the development and early implementation of the OGWRP. The ECBID has also sold $16.8 million of landowner- funded municipal bonds to fund the construction of OGWRP delivery facilities.
There are many partners involved in this effort, and the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District is proud to serve as the lead agency.
Partners Include:
- East Columbia Basin Irrigation District
- Washington State Department of Ecology
- Bureau of Reclamation
- USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
- Columbia Basin Conservation District
- Columbia Basin Development League
- State and Federal Legislators
- Landowners
- Local Utility Providers
- More info can be found here: https://www.ogwrp-programs.org/
