UMATILLA — Construction is on the schedule to begin in 2023 in Umatilla County on the first phase of an irrigation project to benefit industry, cities, irrigators, fisheries and a threatened aquifer.

The approximately $20 million phase of the Ordnance Regional Water Supply and Aquifer Restoration Project is to carry Columbia River water from Umatilla County’s pump station through a new pipeline to the northeast corner of the former Army ordnance depot.

All components of the project might total $43 million.

“We’re going to turn dirt on phase A in 2023,” said John Shafer, chair of Umatilla County Board of Commissioners and the project supervisor.

The city of Umatilla is to benefit from this phase of the project, which supplies residential water west of the Umatilla River and permits development of an industrial park.

Umatilla County’s contributions to phase one were the purchase of the pump station in 2019, project design, fish screen capacity purchase, easement acquisition, risk capital and debt service cost sharing. Private partners also shared capital cost to design and build the distribution line for the city of Umatilla.

“I was four months on the job when I proposed we buy (Northeast Oregon Water Association’s) pump station on the Columbia west of Umatilla,” Shafer recalled, and fellow Commissioners Bill Elfering and George Murdoch agreed.

Umatilla County has hired a consultant for the project’s up to $17 million phases two and three to take more water from the Columbia River to help local farmers, while providing a ready source for economic and environmental benefits.

Phase two extends the pipeline from the depot’s northeast corner to industrial development areas and connects with Westland Irrigation District’s existing pipe crossing Interstate 82. From there, Columbia River water can enter Westland’s A Line canal.

The chief beneficiaries of phase two are the Columbia Development Authority, for industrial water, and Westland Irrigation District, which has short supply and relies on Umatilla River and groundwater sources. But fish and wildlife should also benefit, as more water can remain in McKay Reservoir.

Umatilla County estimates the cost of the second phase at around $13 million. Shafer said the original cost estimate was $6 million, but costs soared due to inflation in the past year and a half.

The county is seeking additional federal funding. Westland is sharing costs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture financing.

Phase three has an estimated cost of $2.5 million for aquifer recharge and monitoring component. The shallow, alluvial Ordnance aquifer underlies the southern portion of the former depot, extending eastward across I-82. The recharge capability is planned to be 45 cubic feet per second per day. Shafer said 20 cfs go to Westland, 5 cfs for the city of Umatilla and 5 more for the recharge project.

The other 15 cfs are interruptible, Shafer explained. A Y-shaped pipe allows Grimmway Farms to receive half of that flow, with priority over Westland during the growing season. The private company is the world’s largest producer of carrots. In the off-season, the water is available for recharge.

Phase three offers quantity and quality improvements to alluvial aquifer water, according to the county, and could provide a sustainable water supply to Westland, well owners and industrial customers in the Westland Road vicinity. Recharge also might benefit lower Umatilla River habitat.

Umatilla County has secured funding for basin recharge and construction of monitoring wells through a 2021 ARPA appropriation. The county is seeking additional funding for recharge project testing in possible partnership with Oregon State University.

A proposed component of the project would recharge the Ordnance aquifer with Umatilla River water. The $6 million estimated cost would construct a pump station and pipeline to deliver river water to the recharge basin.