Residents of the United States are faced with a number of concerns, particularly issues with the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. One resource that is of particular distress, especially in the western U.S., is water availability. There are multiple reasons why some communities are water-starved, including drought. Groundwater depletion also contributes to water shortage issues. The U.S. Geological Survey reports several regions have seen shrinking levels of groundwater. In New York, counties on Long Island have seen the water table lowered and saline groundwater has moved in- land. Land subsidence issues extend from West Central Florida to the Southwest desert and even into the Pacific Northwest. A recently completed project in Washington, however, aims to restore the precious resource that people, especially the region’s widespread farming community, depend upon. The first pumping station of the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project will provide water for up to 10,500 acres. The project, called EL47.5, includes nearly nine miles of pipes. The $20.8 million project started in 2016, and was redesigned in 2017-2018 after a grant allowed for additional capacity. Construction was completed in late summer 2020 and became operational in the spring of 2021. The project will eventually include nine systems to offset the rapid decline of the Odessa Aquifer, which has fallen more than 200 feet since 1980. For a community wrestling with water issues for more than 40 years, the project will bring much-needed relief. “It’s nearly 200,000 people and over a dozen, maybe two dozen small communities that really represent the fiber and the structure of the Columbia Basin and agriculture and farm communities as we know them,’’ said Vicky Scharlau, Executive Director of the Columbia Basin Development League. Unique Solution EL47.5, which is named for its distance from the start of the East Low Canal, includes six pumps and a pump house. It is the first of nine proposed pressurized pipeline systems being built to deliver Columbia Basin Project surface supplies to replace groundwater use on 87,000 acres across Grant, Adams, and Lincoln counties. “Water is ordered daily, conveyed through the East Low Canal and delivered on a 24-hour basis,’’ Scharlau said. “The water is sent down the canals and the pumping station is just one of many outlets that takes water from the canal and distributes it to the different lands.” Washington Project Restores Water for Farmers Excessive Pumping Created 200 Foot Fall of Region’s Vital Aquifer By Thomas Renner
EL47.5 is one cog in the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program. The systems are part of the larger Columbia Basin Project, which cur- rently serves approximately 680,000 acres. The scope of work for the Odessa Groundwater project is far-reaching. Workers widened 46 miles of the East Low Canal, constructed seven siphons, will add seven radial gates and replace 12 bridges. “Lands are all upslope from the East Low Canal, so pumping is a ne- cessity,’’ Scharlau said. “Open channel flow deliveries were financially prohibitive and would require a new canal system to be built. Besides regulatory hurdles, costs were estimated in the billions. For this situa- tion, this was the best option for water delivery to farmers.” EL47.5 is the first pumping station in the expansive Odessa Groundwa - ter system, and teams faced a series of challenges that hopefully will be reduced in subsequent stations. “Regulations, costs, and easement is- sues were overcome by time and perseverance,’’ Scharlau said. “Along The first pump distribution system in the Odessa Ground Water Replacement Project began operation in spring of 2021, and will replace groundwater depletion by up to 73 million gallons per day. Photo: Cody Wurzer
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october 2021 csengineermag.com
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