Ordnance Pipeline project is back on track
By Terry Murry on Tuesday, February 18th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA COUNTY – The Ordnance Regional Water Supply and Aquifer Restoration Project is back on track. Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer says that the county received its easement to work at the Columbia River recently.
He said that easement was delayed because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers misplaced it, forcing the county to start from the beginning. Because of the delay, contractors left to work on other jobs. Now they’re being called back to the site.
“We need two sticks of pipe put in the ground and the pump house,” Shafer said. “Until we had that easement in place we couldn’t do that so we were kind of dead in the water, if you will.”
Shafer said the pipes will be installed next month and construction of the pump house will begin this summer. The Ordnance Project is expected to increase water supply reliability for irrigated acres while also providing a water resource for economic and environmental benefits.
The county has reached an agreement with Grimmway Farms to use a portion of its Columbia River intake facilities. The pipeline will aid in the development of the land that used to be part of the Umatilla Chemical Weapons Depot.
