OLYMPIA — A Washington bill authored by Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, that clarifies the water rights serving the Columbia Basin Project was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday.
House Bill 1752 authorizes the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to apply and obtain approval for water right modifications and provides farmers flexibility as new pumping systems are developed to restore the diminishing Odessa Aquifer in central Washington, according to a news release.
According to Dye, efficient use of federal water would assist in getting the most value from large public irrigation systems under construction by allowing more acres to be served without affecting the watershed.
“We water very differently today than when water rights were first issued to the Bureau of Reclamation within the Columbia Basin Project,” Dye said. “We use technology to be very precise in the use of water resources so that not one drop of water is wasted. This bill brings our water law in alignment with the current technology that is saving millions of gallons of water.”
The bill corrects a provision in the law that inadvertently required an annual consumptive use calculation that was not intended for the federal water rights in the Columbia Basin, according to the news release. It also clarifies that water from the Columbia Basin project may be used to irrigate additional acres.
Dye said improvements in irrigation efficiency over the last 75 years have saved enough water that acres could be added to improve the efficient use of the irrigation canals and pipelines delivering Columbia Basin water.
The federal government is now requiring broadband fiber to be installed in all pipeline systems, Dye said. This allows large public delivery systems to operate with a control system used for canals and pumping stations. An added benefit is to improve producers’ access to their on-farm systems with apps on their cellphones.
Dye is also working to expand irrigation for the other 35% of the Columbia Basin Project authorized by Congress, including new pipelines and irrigation systems to provide groundwater replacement in the Odessa Aquifer area, where deep water wells are drying up.
Dye’s bill passed Washington’s House and Senate unanimously. It becomes law June 6.
