CSRIA Submits Water Service Contract to the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District for System 1 of the Privately Funded Project to Bring Irrigation Water to the Odessa Aquifer Subarea

OTHELLO, Wash., June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association (CSRIA) has submitted a Water Service Contract to the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District for System 1 of CSRIA's Privately Funded/Financed Project in which Odessa Aquifer deep well irrigators would privately fund/finance and build a lateral pipeline (System 1) east from the East Low Canal to bring surface water to the Odessa Subarea east of the Moses Lake area.

In particular, the Water Service Contract recently submitted to the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID) would allow for the construction of a privately funded pipeline (System 1) and other improvements to deliver surface water east from the East Low Canal to about 14,000 acres of farmland north of I-90 in the Odessa Subarea by as early as 2016.

The System 1 Project pre-construction engineering has been completed and the participants have secured approved financing (with lending rates locked-in for the near term). Specifically, CSRIA has worked with Clifton Larson Allen, Key Bank, Northwest Farm Credit Services and AXA Equitable AgriFinance to put together a $40 million privately financed package that will build the System 1 infrastructure to get critically needed surface water to the farms east of Moses Lake.

With the execution of the Water Service Contract by the ECBID, the construction and development of System 1 can begin immediately.

The delivery of water to nearly 14,000 acres north of I-90 is the first step in a plan to bring surface water irrigation to about 70,000 acres (or more) of farmland in the Odessa Subarea, both north and south of I-90. The initial development (Systems 1-4) may reach as far south of I-90 to Lind Coulee. Further development to the south (of Lind Coulee) will require additional expansion of the East Low Canal.

The CSRIA Privately Funded/Financed Project has been widely endorsed by many newspapers and decision-makers as a viable, cost-effective and realistic option to immediately begin replacing the use of groundwater from the declining Odessa Aquifer in eastern Washington. Additionally, it offers a practical and reasonable solution that can be developed in a short timeframe to begin effectively resolving the Odessa Aquifer depletion issue.

Following are recent editorials in several of the region's newspapers endorsing CSRIA's privately funded solution:

• http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2013/09/24/2590487/our-voice-government-should-support.html
• http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/jul/13/editorial-water-flows-to-farms-with-help-of/
• http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2012/01/20/1794124/plan-to-irrigate-odessa-appears.html
• http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/opinion/editorials/article_bf77501a-42ed-11e1-bbee-001871e3ce6c.html

Furthermore, many legislative leaders have expressed support, and last month CSRIA presented the Project to the House Capital Budget Committee at a special work session in Olympia.

For more information, contact Darryll Olsen of CSRIA at 509-783-1623 or Email.

About CSRIA (http://www.csria.org)
The Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association is a leading organization in promoting water conservation and water efficiency in the Pacific Northwest. CSRIA's membership includes row crop, vineyard, orchard and livestock operations and we irrigate about 250,000 acres of prime agricultural lands in Washington State and primarily consist of operations along the Columbia-Snake River system, relying almost exclusively on private investment to build and operate highly efficient, state-of-the-art river pump stations and water distribution systems. Additionally, many municipalities and port districts are members of CSRIA. In economic terms, CSRIA members annually generate about $475-600 million in state and local income by purchasing goods and services from numerous economic sectors, ranging from paper products and food packaging to financial, legal and marketing services.

SOURCE Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association