Wenatchee and Kennewick irrigation districts, water haulers to benefit
OLYMPIA – September 17, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Drought relief funding will help ease congestion and safety concerns at a water hauling station north of Spokane, improve the water delivery system for a Wenatchee irrigation district and allow the Kennewick Irrigation District to store water for use in really busy times.
In Northwest Washington, the town of Startup is receiving funding for a well rehabilitation project in the latest round of drought relief grants approved by the Washington Department of Ecology.
A total of nine grants have been approved for funding from the $16 million approved by the 2015 Legislature to use over the next two years to help relieve drought hardships statewide.
- Whitworth Water District No. 2 will receive $56,000 to move a drive-in water filling station to a less congested area in north Spokane County. Because of the drought, the number of rural homeowners with dry wells needing to haul water from the station has more than doubled. The grant money will allow the water district to move the water-filling station from where it is now between two buildings with a narrow driveway next to a busy highway to a location where water haulers can safely maneuver their trailers with water tanks.
- Stemilt Irrigation District in Wenatchee will receive $41,500 to replace 3,000 feet of inadequate, aging pipe and add two pump booster stations to its irrigation system. This will allow access to reservoir water to replace withdrawals from Stemilt Creek. The Stemilt district provides irrigation water for 1,300 acres of prime fruit orchards in Chelan County.
- Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) will receive $45,304 to rent large water pumps and install them in strategic locations in the district to allow KID to store water in off peak periods and utilize it in peak demand periods. The stored water will allow KID to deliver additional water to its 23,249 agricultural and residential customers to offset cuts to its water allocation, reduced to less than half of normal by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation because of the drought.
- Startup Water District will receive $15,400 to repair and rehabilitate one of two wells in its water system that supplies 560 customers. The well has not delivered water since June. The grant money will be used to purchase a new pump and motor, and clean and scrub a clogged well screen.
Gov. Jay Inslee made the entire state eligible for drought relief funding when he declared a statewide drought May 15. Public entities such as cities, public utilities and irrigation districts can get help paying for developing alternative water supplies or deepening existing groundwater wells. Applicants are required to fund half the cost of their projects.
Applications are still being accepted for drought relief projects. More information can be found on the 2015 Drought Emergency Grant Program website. Projects must be completed by Dec. 31, 2015, and begin providing immediate relief from the drought.
Contact:
Dan Partridge, communications, 360-407-7139, @ecologyWA
