Development league meets to consider life after special study

By MATTHEW WEAVER

Capital Press

Eastern Washington residents and water users will find out which way their future is flowing next week.

The Columbia Basin Development League gathers for its annual conference Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Big Bend Community College ATEC Building, 7611 Bolling St. NE, Moses Lake, Wash.

The informational session, free to the public, begins at 2 p.m. and includes information about the steps following conclusion of a special study of the Columbia Basin Irrigation's Odessa Subarea Aquifer, to be completed in 2010.

"With the challenges we're facing with the depletion of the aquifer, this study is directly looking at how we can resolve that problem," said Sean McGrath, league executive director.

The league hopes to assist farmers using groundwater wells over the declining aquifer immediately, bringing them surface water. Completion of the second half of the project is a separate issue, McGrath said.

A panel discussion -- "What's Next When the Odessa Subarea Study is Completed?" -- includes U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Upper Columbia manager Bill Gray, Washington Department of Ecology Office of Columbia River director Derek Sandison and East Columbia Basin Irrigation District manager Craig Simpson.

McGrath said he anticipates a great discussion on the next steps of the process in terms of water delivery.

"How do we push a project like this forward?" he said. "We're going to spend the time to help (people) understand what it takes to actually get a project like this going."

Continued education is vitally important, McGrath said, so he hopes to share the league's message with the most people possible.

"We've kept it free on purpose," he said. "We really want to be able to make it accessible to a lot of people."

A dinner and league membership meeting, including the election of officers, begins at 6 p.m. following a social hour. Cost to attend is $30, and reservations are required.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Pacific Northwest regional director Bill McDonald will be keynote speaker at 7 p.m.

Bureau Pacific Northwest region public affairs officer Venetia Gempler said McDonald will follow the league's conference theme of moving ahead and will focus his comments on the bureau's efforts in the key projects within the area.

Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Dan Newhouse, Columbia Basin Water Initiative project director Mike Schwisow and bureau technical project study manager Wendy Christensen are also among the scheduled speakers during the conference.

"Anybody who's interested in water and the furthering of the project should come out," McGrath said.

Matthew Weaver is based in Spokane, Wash. E-mail: mweaver@capitalpress.com

Online

Columbia Basin Development League: www.cbdleague.com