Central Washington Irrigation District Named WaterSMART Recipient

The Bureau of Reclamation announced that the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District has been selected to receive a federal WaterSMART grant. The Water and Energy Efficiency grant will help the District improve water use, increase renewable energy production, reduce the risk of water conflicts and provide “other benefits that will enhance water supply sustainability.”

The $300,000 awarded to the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District will help fund the West Canal Concrete Lining Project. With these funds, the District will line 2,500 feet of the earthen canal with a high-density polyethylene geotextile liner. The project advances the goals of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the three Columbia Basin Project irrigation districts, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Bureau of Reclamation to address regional water reliability concerns including drought, groundwater issues, and improved stream flows to assist salmon recovery.

The project is expected to result in annual water savings of 849 acre-feet that is currently lost to seepage. The water conserved will be used to meet actions identified in the MOU, including offsetting groundwater pumping and maintaining flows in the Columbia River. This funding was approved as part of the FY22 Appropriations package which received Congressional approval in March.

Central Washington representative and chair of the Western Caucus Dan Newhouse applauded the announcement.

“This funding is a major win for improving conservation and water use efficiency in the Columbia Basin.  In the arid West, we understand deeply how precious water truly is, and our irrigation district managers and operators work around-the-clock to conserve and manage our limited supply,” Newhouse said.  “This grant—which is awarded as our district and many like it across the country face devastating drought conditions—will enable the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District to address regional water reliability concerns, including drought, groundwater issues, and improved stream flows to assist salmon recovery, so they can continue to efficiently deliver water to our rural communities and producers.”

“This project will save 849 acre-feet of our region’s most precious resource—water—every year,” said Roger Sonnichsen, Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District Manager. “And by revitalizing our aging infrastructure we can continue to provide consistent irrigation for the more than 2,000 landowners who irrigate over 250,000 acres to produce food and to provide food security to the people of Washington State, the nation, and the world. I thank Congressman Newhouse for his continued leadership in supporting these crucial projects.”

Background on the federal program:

Through WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants, Reclamation provides 50/50 cost share funding to irrigation and water districts, tribes, states and other entities with water or power delivery authority. Projects conserve and use water more efficiently; increase the production of hydropower; mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict; and accomplish other benefits that contribute to water supply reliability in the western United States. Projects are selected through a competitive process and the focus is on projects that can be completed within two or three years.

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