Washington State Irrigation Conveyance Project Receives $9.23 Million Grant

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 27, the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, provided approximately $9.23 million in federal funding to the EL 22.1 irrigation conveyance project under the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program in Washington State. The project is located in central Washington, east of Moses Lake and north of Interstate 90, and plans to convert the irrigation water source for approximately 17,324 acres (about 7,011 hectares) of farmland from groundwater to surface water from the Columbia River. Construction includes conveyance pipelines, pump stations, and supporting on-farm irrigation facilities.

EL 22.1 is the largest irrigation conveyance system currently being advanced under the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program. According to the engineering design plan published by the Washington State Department of Ecology, the project will construct new canal intake facilities, a large canal pump station, and approximately 12 miles (about 19.3 kilometers) of large-diameter conveyance pipeline, and will upgrade supporting substations. The conveyance system will connect to the East Low Canal of the Columbia Basin Project to supply surface water to agricultural land currently dependent on deep-well pumping.

Upon completion, the project is expected to retire 34 deep groundwater wells and reduce groundwater extraction by approximately 17 billion U.S. gallons per year, equivalent to about 64.35 million cubic meters. The associated water supply facilities will cover agricultural production areas within the Odessa Groundwater Subarea, with supporting on-farm conveyance and irrigation facilities to connect the public conveyance system with farmers' existing irrigation networks.

Regarding funding arrangements, the Washington State Legislature previously allocated $57 million for the EL 22.1 project through the Columbia River Office of the State Department of Ecology. With this new federal grant, combined state and federal funding support exceeds $66 million. Project engineering design has been completed, and construction permits, land access rights, and environmental compliance procedures are currently being advanced. Construction is scheduled for implementation in the later part of the 2025–2027 state budget cycle.

This funding comes from the USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program for fiscal year 2026. Nationwide that year, a total of 42 projects received more than $325 million in support, of which 3 projects in Washington State received approximately $30 million, with EL 22.1 being one of the funded projects.