Odessa Ground Water Replacement Program Siphons

Weber Siphons No. 1 and No. 2 Project
Crews working inside Weber Siphon No. 1.

Crews working inside Weber Siphon No. 1.

The Weber Siphons are not part of the OGWRP implementation; rather, they are part of the Odessa Subarea and the Lake Roosevelt Incremental Storage Release Project. The Washington State Department of Ecology and Reclamation constructed the Weber Siphon Complex to deliver a portion of the Odessa Subarea’s water replacement needs. Although the complex was completed prior to the completion of the Odessa final EIS, it is an important component of the overall OGWRP development. Construction of the complex allowed Reclamation, in support of the state’s water replacement goals, to bring 30,000 acre-feet of LRISR water to approximately 10,000 acres of land on unsustainable groundwater supplies for irrigation. By adding the second barrel of the siphon, the complex’s capacity increased to accommodate delivery of this water, and the water that will serve the overall OGWRP. In 2011, Reclamation used funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to complete the complex and increase the capacity of the East Low Canal.

As part of the “backbone” of the OGWRP, five new second-barrel siphons were constructed to increase the capacity of the ELC necessary to provide new federal surface water supplies to deep-well irrigators in the Odessa Subarea. Ecology provided the funding, and Reclamation designed the siphons and provided technical support and construction oversight to the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District. Construction contract administration and project management of the siphon projects were performed by ECBID.

Lind Coulee Siphon No. 1 and No. 2 Project
Overhead view showing the length of the Lind Coulee Siphon No. 2.

Overhead view showing the length of the Lind Coulee Siphon No. 2

This project was completed in March 2016 and required the placement of a combined length of approximately 4,483 feet of new concrete siphon barrels to increase the capacity of the previous single-barrel siphon installations.

Warden Siphon Project
Crews use a red steel form to pour concrete to construct the Warden Siphon.

Crews use a red steel form to pour concrete to construct the Warden Siphon.

Completed in March 2017, the project involved the placement of approximately 156 feet of a new concrete siphon barrel.

Kansas Prairie No.1 and No.2 Project
Crews inspect Kansas Prairie Siphon No. 1

Crews inspect Kansas Prairie Siphon No. 1.

The siphon project consisted of two second-barrel siphons with a combined length of 2,022 feet of new concrete siphon barrels. Completed in March 2020, the Kansas Prairie Siphons were the final two siphons of the OGWRP.

Contact

Jennifer Hickenbottom
509-573-8043
jhickenbottom@usbr.gov

Bureau of Reclamation
Columbia Cascades Area Office
1917 Marsh Road
Yakima, WA 98901-2058


Last Updated: 1/30/23