COLUMBIA BASIN PROJECT CREATES BILLIONS

COLUMBIA BASIN PROJECT CREATES BILLIONS

A released 80-page report unveiled that the Columbia Basin Project (CBP), the largest Bureau of Reclamation multi-purpose project in the United States, generates an annual crop value of $2.66 billion to Washington State. The report, Economic Contribution of Irrigated Agriculture Supported by the Columbia Basin Project, assessed the fiscal impact of irrigated agriculture on local, state, and national economies. Located in the mid-Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington, the Columbia Basin Project was authorized by Congress to irrigate 1,029,000 acres, but to date, infrastructure of reservoirs and canals irrigates about 700,000 acres in portions of Grant, Adams, Franklin, and Walla Walla counties, with some land in Lincoln authorized but not yet receiving water. The report, commissioned by the three irrigation districts in the CBP--Quincy, East, and South Columbia Basin Irrigation Districts—to update a 2010 study, was completed by Highland Economics of Portland. Primary CBP crops listed in the report include hay, potatoes, corn, wheat, beans, orchard fruits, grapes, herbs, onions, grass seed, and vegetables with an estimated value of $3,800 per acre, annually.  The report estimated an additional $2.67 billion of animal and food processing production specifically tied to CBP crops, with over $6 billion in animal and food processing production value.  Over 40,000 area jobs (full and part-time) are created with nearly $2.33 billion in income annually and 90% of all area jobs and income related to crop production or food processing.