Conference to focus on several issues that will affect water supplies for eastside

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation representatives will discuss the five-year study of the Odessa aquifer during the Columbia Basin Development League's Oct. 26 meeting.

The number of impacted farms is not certain, but league executive secretary Alice Parker said the bureau is looking at bringing Columbia River water to 106,000 acres currently irrigated by deep wells.

"We're going to be interested in seeing the benefit-cost ratio," she said. "We're really interested to see what opportunities and what actions can be taken to resolve this issue."

A 60-day comment period follows the release of the Odessa Subarea Special Study Draft Planning Report and its environmental impact study. A final environmental impact statement will come out in 2011.

Another speaker, Matt Rea of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will address the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada, which is up for renewal in 2014. Rea is project manager for the treaty.

The free conference begins at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at the ATEC Building on the Big Bend Community College campus in Moses Lake, Wash. The league's annual meeting and dinner begin at 6 p.m. Keynote speaker Karl Wirkus, Pacific Northwest director of Reclamation, will speak.

A recent study by the Columbia Basin Ground Water Management Area found that most ground water in the region is not being replenished. Farms and cities such as Connell, Lind, Ritzville, Warden and Moses Lake will be affected by the declining aquifer levels.

Online

Columbia Basin Development League: http://cbdleague.com