Water mining drying future

Associated Press

SPOKANE — Scientists call it water mining.

Like thousands of straws in a swimming pool, wells are slowly sucking the water from under a huge swath of the Columbia Basin.

They’re not going to drain it, but as wells for homes, towns, industries and farms draw down the water level, there are concerns for the future.

Water is being withdrawn from the so-called "Odessa subarea" at a faster rate by far than it can be restored. Test wells show the water level has dropped between 200 and 300 feet in the past three decades.

"This is Odessa. It rains eight inches a year out there," John Covert, a state Department of Ecology hydrogeologist, said recently.

The subarea covers 2,000 square miles, stretching from just east of Moses Lake to just east of Ritzville. It covers portions of Grant, Adams, Lincoln and Franklin counties.

Scientists and politicians have watched the drawdown for more than 30 years.

But the Ecology Department is just now discussing whether to stop taking new applications for water rights for large users in the Odessa subarea, a step that wouldn’t affect new domestic wells.

Most new applications are denied anyway. That has made existing water rights more valuable than farms in some areas.

"It (water) is going to be worth its weight in gold here in another 10, 15 years. There’s a finite amount," said Art Tackett, city administrator in Connell, who believes the state is being too restrictive, at least in his area.

The Odessa subarea lies over a portion of two underground aquifers. Their depth, and the depth of the wells tapped into them, varies depending on location.

Both are being depleted, Covert said.

Hydrologists estimate that wells for all uses pulled about 14,000 acre-feet from the Odessa subarea in 1963.

In 1968, then-Gov. Dan Evans issued an executive order closing the area to new water rights. The governor’s action was intended to give the Ecology Department time to assess the situation and make plans for the future.

But the take of water continued to grow as landowners drilled new wells under existing rights.

By 1970, the aquifers were relinquishing 117,000 acre-feet annually, an eight-fold increase in seven years. Covert estimates the current draw is about 250,000 acre-feet, and hasn’t changed much in the past two decades.

The state in 1973 decided the water table should not be allowed to recede more than 300 feet over the next 30 years. That has not been exceeded, although the water table has dropped more than 200 feet in some test wells.

Cutting off new permits won’t stop the decline.

But that step — in combination with a relatively recent emphasis on investigating illegal water use — should slow the decline.

Eventually, the aquifers should reach an equilibrium in which the amount of water being withdrawn is matched by the amount of water being drawn into it, Covert said.

By then, the water level will be far lower than it is now, and some farmers likely will have given up on irrigation, authorities predict.

Completion of the planned 1 million acre Columbia Basin Project would help recharge the aquifer, scientists conclude. Only about 530,000 acres are under irrigation from canals.

Although many farmers remain hopeful, the expansion has not happened, largely because of concerns over saving salmon.

To expand the canals now "would take a shift in national priority," said Bill Gray of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

"We have water issues, we have power issues," he said. "Is there a national need for additional irrigation acres today? Those are some of the questions where the answer would have to be ‘yes’ " before the irrigation project would be expanded.

The Ecology Department has not processed any new water rights for the Odessa subarea since the mid-1990s. The agency had a backlog when the work stopped.

This year, the agency’s Spokane office resumed work on 32 pending applications, including some dating to the late 1980s and some filed as recently as last year. Three have been granted; seven have been withdrawn; 22 are still pending.

Some farmers withdrew their applications after receiving Ecology Department letters telling them they stood little chance of receiving a new water right.

The three successful applicants all live in the northeastern corner of the subarea, where the water supply is still adequate, said Covert. They will receive a combined 1,988 acre-feet more of water a year.

The pending applications should be processed by early next year.

Once they’re finished, the Ecology Department will start talking with residents of the subarea about no longer accepting new applications, said George Schlender, the agency’s water resources manager in Spokane.

"The outcome isn’t certain," Schlender said. "My desire may be to close the basin, but we have to go through public comments, and there may be another direction that people want to go."

Associated Press

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Customers enter and exit the Costco on Dec. 2, 2022, in Lake Stevens. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Costco stores could be impacted by looming truck driver strike threat

Truck drivers who deliver groceries and produce to Costco warehouses… Continue reading

Two Washington State ferries pass along the route between Mukilteo and Clinton as scuba divers swim near the shore Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ferry system increases ridership by a half million in 2024

Edmonds-Kingston route remains second-busiest route in the system.

Want coffee? Drink some with the Marysville mayor.

A casual question-and-answer session between mayor and constituents is planned for March 24.

Judge sentences man for role in human smuggling ring

Jesus Ortiz-Plata was arrested in Everett in May 2024. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced him to 15 months in prison.

Bill Wood, right, Donnie Griffin, center right, and Steve Hatzenbeler, left, listen and talk with South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman, center left, during an Edmonds Civic Roundtable event to discuss the RFA annexation on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds community discusses annexation into the regional fire authority

About 100 residents attended the Edmonds Civic Roundtable discussion in preparation for the April special election.

Robin Cain with 50 of her marathon medals hanging on a display board she made with her father on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Running a marathon is hard. She ran one in every state.

Robin Cain, of Lake Stevens, is one of only a few thousand people to ever achieve the feat.

People line up to grab food at the Everett Recovery Cafe on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Coffee, meals and compassion are free at the Everett Recovery Cafe

The free, membership-based day center offers free coffee and meals and more importantly, camaraderie and recovery support.

Devani Padron, left, Daisy Ramos perform during dance class at Mari's Place Monday afternoon in Everett on July 13, 2016. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
Mari’s Place helps children build confidence and design a better future

The Everett-based nonprofit offers free and low-cost classes in art, music, theater and dance for children ages 5 to 14.

The Everett Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Snohomish River on Thursday, June 16, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett water, sewer rates could jump 43% by 2028

The rate hikes would pay for improvements to the city’s sewer infrastructure.

The bond funded new track and field at Northshore Middle School on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Courtesy of Northshore School District)
Northshore School District bond improvements underway

The $425 million bond is funding new track and field complexes, playgrounds and phase one of two school replacements.

Timothy Evans, a volunteer at the east Everett cold weather shelter, with his dog Hammer on Monday, Feb. 10 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Temporary shelter opens in Everett during unusually cold weather

The shelter will open nightly until Feb. 14. Help is needed at the new location, as well as six others across the county.

Outside of the updated section of Lake Stevens High School on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020 in Lake Stevens, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lake Stevens schools bond leading early; Arlington voters reject latest levy attempt

A $314 million bond looks to pass while Arlington’s attempts to build a new Post Middle School again appear to take a step back.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.