CBCD Measures Groundwater Levels as New OGWRP System Comes Online

By Britton Baker, CBCD’s Well Monitoring Program Manager

The data collected through the Columbia Basin Conservation District's (CBCD) Groundwater Monitoring Program serves as a critical tool for assessing and informing the implementation of local conservation efforts and sustainable water use in the basin.

As of April 2025, CBCD is monitoring 8 wells across Grant, Adams, and Franklin counties on a monthly basis with the capacity for more wells to be added. These monitoring efforts will continue through July 2025, after which the wells will be observed before and after the irrigation season.

Harold Crose, CBCD's Resource Conservationist at the OGWRP EL 86.4 pumphouse

The 8 wells currently monitored by the CBCD are within the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program (OGWRP) area. Monitoring these wells is critical for assessing if and how the deep aquifer is responding to irrigation wells coming offline, as they begin to receive surface water through the Columbia Basin Project.

This month, the OGWRP EL 86.4, OGWRP’s second system to be completed by the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, converted 5,426 acres from deep well irrigation to Columbia River surface water. This shift has eliminated the use of 16 wells, effectively conserving 16,143 acre-feet (5.3 billion gallons) of water annually in the Odessa Subarea Aquifer.

“We are thrilled to have helped bring $6 million in NRCS funding to assist with the EL 86.4 on-farm buildouts. Monitoring wells within the project area will help assess the localized effects of conserving this significant amount of water in the deep aquifer each year.” - Kristina Ribellia, CBCD Executive Director

CBCD is partnering with Dr. Alexandra (Sasha) Richey McLarty of Washington State University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Dr. Kevin Lindsey of GeoEngineers, to process and analyze the well monitoring data. Together, they will continue to provide valuable guidance on the implementation of CBCD’s Well Monitoring Program.

The well monitoring data collected by CBCD and other partners in the basin will be made available on the Columbia Basin Groundwater Cooperative – A web resource managed by your local conservation districts for the benefit of all that is currently being developed. This important web application is being developed in partnership with the Lincoln County Conservation District and Franklin Conservation District, and is being funded by the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Office of Columbia River, the Bureau of Reclamation, and WSCC.

CBCD’s well monitoring efforts are currently funded by Washington State University, the Washington State Conservation Commission’s (WSCC) Voluntary Stewardship Program, and the Natural Resources Conservation Services’ Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

For more information and interest in providing your well as a potential monitoring, please contact Britton Baker, CBCD’s Well Monitoring Program Manager at

britton-baker@columbiabasincd.org or call (509) 771-4889.

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