Water-storage help for the Yakima River Basin

STABILIZING and improving water supplies in Central Washington remains an important priority. The apparent dismissal by federal authorities of a heavily promoted water-storage project near Yakima does not change the goal.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation released a final environmental impact statement Friday that concluded the massive Black Rock reservoir and two smaller projects were vastly more expensive than the results they would deliver to irrigators and nearby communities.

Black Rock was to receive water pumped from the Columbia River for later release. That hypothetical transfer was another, separate topic for review. The proposed project, east of Yakima, had cost estimates that ranged up to $7.7 billion, with a predicted price tag of $5.65 billion. In January 2007, backers of the reservoir acknowledged their own cost figures were off at least $2 billion.

Earlier reviews by the bureau had raised doubts about the viability of Black Rock, based on seismic stability and on seepage rates from the reservoir. The U.S. Department of Energy was worried about leaks raising the water table at the Hanford nuclear reservation and moving contaminants toward the Columbia River.

Studies of Black Rock have already cost some $18 million. This is an opportunity to move on, but the supporters of the reservoir, who secured a congressional imprimatur in 2003, can be expected to seek more federal support.

As the improbability of Black Rock set in last year, local groups in the Yakima River Basin stumped for a broader look by the state. The Roza Irrigation District, the Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District and the Yakama Nation actively sought alternatives to one big answer for their water needs for irrigation and fish.

Subsequently, the state Department of Ecology is exploring a mix of smaller approaches, including water markets and creative alternatives to use-it-or-lose-it water regulations. Other options include water conservation and modification of capacity at existing storage reservoirs such as Bumping Lake.

Black marks against Black Rock keeping stacking up. One big fix is highly improbable. Tax dollars, civic energy and political capital have other constructive alternatives with the potential of real dividends.