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Weber Siphon Complex Construction Project - Reclamation

With the new Weber Siphon construction site as a backdrop on Aug. 2, 2011, the Washington Department of Ecology( Ecology) and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) celebrated regional partnerships and major milestones that are delivering water to the parched Odessa Subarea and communities up and down the Columbia River, while supporting stream flows for fish in the Columbia River.

At the event southeast of Moses Lake, Ecology and Reclamation signed a water service contract that opens the door for Ecology to issue new water rights to as many as 100 communities, and delivers water to the river when fish need it most, as part of the state’s Lake Roosevelt storage release program.

Through the new siphon, the Lake Roosevelt release program will deliver the first increment of new water to replace declining underground water to farmers in the Odessa area. Construction of the Weber Siphon will allow Reclamation to bring 30,000 acre-feet of Lake Roosevelt Project water to as much as 10,000 acres of land now relying on unsustainable groundwater supplies for irrigation.

Fulfilling its obligation to aggressively pursue new water supplies for Eastern Washington, Ecology’s Office of Columbia River (OCR) is tackling the top priorities of 2006 Columbia River Water Management legislation: to provide replacement water to farmers in the Odessa Subarea where aquifers are declining by as much as 10 feet a year; to develop water for new municipal, domestic and industrial needs; to support stream flows for fish; and to prevent the interruption of water delivery to irrigators during drought.

Over the next 20 years, new water allocated to Eastern Washington communities is projected to support 35,000 new jobs and add $3 billion to the economy as water is allocated.

Ecology’s Office of the Columbia River provided $800,000 to fund the design of the second siphon. With the approval of the U.S. Congress, Reclamation secured $36 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to build it.

Governor Chris Gregoire, Ecology Director Ted Sturdevant, state Agriculture Director Dan Newhouse, East Columbia Basin Irrigation District President Mark Booker and Reclamation’s Pacific Northwest regional director Karl Wirkus, were joined by State Senators Bob Morton and Janéa Holmquist Newbry and State Representatives Judy Warnick, Shelly Short and Susan Fagan for the Aug. 2 event.

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