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OGWRP Conserves an Additional 5.3 Billion Gallons in the Aquifer Annually with Completion of the EL 86.4
- Columbia Basin Conservation District
- Apr 15
- 3 min read
By Kristina Ribellia, CBCD Executive Director
We are excited to announce that another significant milestone has been reached for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program (OGWRP). The second OGWRP system, known as EL 86.4, is now receiving surface water through the Columbia Basin Project.
The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District (ECBID) recently completed the EL 86.4 public, gravity-fed system in Franklin County. Over the past several months, producers have been working diligently to complete their on-farm buildouts in time to receive these new surface water deliveries, which began on April 1, 2025.
The EL 86.4 system has converted 5,426 acres from deep well irrigation to Columbia River surface water through the Columbia Basin Project, the largest irrigation project in the western United States. This transition has taken 16 wells off line, effectively conserving 16,143 acre-feet (approximately 5.3 billion gallons) of water annually from the Odessa Subarea Aquifer.
Producers in the EL 86.4 area have been waiting decades for access to irrigation district water through the Columbia Basin Project. When the project faced delays, the state of Washington issued temporary groundwater rights in the 1960s and 70s to help bridge the gap. Unfortunately, this led to a decline in the deep, confined basalt aquifer at unsustainable rates, negatively impacting farmers and communities and threatening the region's economy.
When Doug Allen, CBCD's senior planner, asked EL 86.4 producers about the most significant change they have experienced by converting from groundwater to surface water deliveries through ECBID, producer Corrin Rathbun stated, "No more sleepless nights worrying about the wells shutting down."
The emergency aquifer rescue mission, now known as the OGWRP, has been in progress since the early 2000s. It has involved significant investments from the State of Washington, the Bureau of Reclamation, ECBID, landowners, and, more recently, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
The EL 86.4 public system, which is estimated to cost around $10 million, was funded through the Washington State Legislature’s 2023 Capital Budget. CBCD and its partners leveraged the state’s investments in the EL 86.4 to secure an additional $6 million from NRCS through the Regional Conservation Partners Program (RCPP) and the WaterSMART Program to construct the on-farm infrastructure needed to connect to the public system.
The following partners played a crucial role in securing NRCS funding for the EL 86.4:
- EL 86.4 Landowners Group
Since 2021, CBCD has received funding from the Washington State Legislature through the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Office of Columbia River to pursue NRCS funding for the OGWRP. To date, CBCD and its partners have secured $49.4 million through NRCS, with the EL 86.4 on-farm buildouts being the first of their investments being implemented on the ground.
To learn more about the OGWRP and CBCD’s work to pursue NRCS funding for the program, visit www.ogwrp-programs.org.
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