Aquifer Storage Recovery for Agriculture—Experience in Northeast Oregon

Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is a mechanism for storage of water from a surface water source in natural underground aquifers during the times when the surface water is available, for use when that source is no longer available due to natural causes or management rules. Several ASR projects have been implemented across the U.S. to supply municipal uses during peak demand periods. The relatively high cost of initial testing, infrastructure construction, and ongoing monitoring and management for these systems is balanced by favorable municipal rate structures. In the western U.S., the lack of available summer surface water and dwindling groundwater resources has focused attention on storage of more plentiful winter river water for summer use. However, the use of ASR for agricultural purposes has not become prevalent due to various factors, mainly that their cost has to be primarily borne by relatively few irrigators and cannot be passed down to consumers. Information from testing such a system in the Umatilla Basin of northeastern Oregon is used herein to evaluate the key parameters that are important in testing and implementing of such systems for agricultural uses. The Umatilla Basin system targeted storage of up to 100,000 acre feet of winter water from the nearby Columbia River. The system parameters such as hydrogeology, water treatment requirements, availability of existing infrastructure, role of power cost, and regulatory framework will be explored in the context of basin-wide cooperation and competition, consideration of conjunctive groundwater and surface water uses, and inter-state and trans-boundary water agreements.