US to Expand Irrigation Project

The US has unveiled a proposal to expand one of the country’s largest irrigation projects, including plans to draw more water from Columbia River reservoirs to replace groundwater from a declining aquifer.

Four of the eight proposals released by the US Government will supply surface water to about 57,000 acres irrigated by groundwater south of Interstate 90.

The other four proposals would replace groundwater with surface water for 102,600 acres, north and south of the interstate.

The project will draw water from Banks Lake or Lake Roosevelt, which are reservoirs created by the Grand Coulee Dam, by drawing water from a new reservoir north-east of Moses Lake or by a combination of the three.

The cost of the project will range from $728m to $3.3bn, according to businessweek.com.

There is also a proposal to build a new reservoir, which will hold about 117,000 acre-feet of water at a cost of $300m.