Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

More Water For Eastern Washington, But Not When Its Needed Most

File photo of the 11-Mile Headgate for the Roza Irrigation canal outside of Yakima, Washington.
Anna King
/
Northwest News Network
File photo of the 11-Mile Headgate for the Roza Irrigation canal outside of Yakima, Washington.

Every five years, a team convenes to evaluate long-term water supply and demand for the Columbia River Basin. For eastern Washington, the water supply will increase, but not when demand is highest.

“Overall, we’re looking at a large shift of water being available in the winter time when the demand is lower and less available in the summer time, particularly the late summer season,” Washington’s Water Research Center Associate Director Jennifer Adam said.

The study does not account for new irrigation projects or how water users might adapt to more frequent and severe droughts due to climate change.

Meanwhile, groundwater in parts of the Columbia River Basin is declining. Dan Haller, an engineer with consulting firm Aspect, worked with Washington State University on the report.

“We do have a lot of houses, a lot of farms, a lot of industry that are relying on water that for a long time was viewed as secure and now our understanding is getting more mature that that security may not last forever,” Haller said.

The state’s Department of Ecology has been working on a groundwater replacement project in the Yakima Valley town of Odessa for a decade, but Haller said other places facing groundwater declines in Washington aren’t as well-known.

“Within the professional community, there has been an understanding that this is an area that is going to need work,” he said.

Groundwater is just one piece of a long-term Columbia River Basin water forecast that will go to the legislature later this year.

Washington does not have a statewide water forecast. Haller said that requires more funding.

“And then really understanding the specific policies like climate change, water banking and declining groundwater in Eastern Washington that would be important to study statewide,” he said.

Copyright 2016 Northwest News Network

Emily Schwing
Emily Schwing comes to the Inland Northwest by way of Alaska, where she covered social and environmental issues with an Arctic spin as well as natural resource development, wildlife management and Alaska Native issues for nearly a decade. Her work has been heard on National Public Radio’s programs like “Morning Edition” and “All things Considered.” She has also filed for Public Radio International’s “The World,” American Public Media’s “Marketplace,” and various programs produced by the BBC and the CBC. She has also filed stories for Scientific American, Al Jazeera America and Arctic Deeply.