HERMISTON, Ore.-Drilling for an Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project in the South Hermiston Industrial Park is now underway.
The Hermiston City Council approved the public-private partnership between the city and Amazon Web Services (AWS) in February and drilling is expected to be completed by October, according to city officials.
“This is really about being efficient with existing infrastructure,” said Mark Morgan, Assistant City Manager of Hermiston. “Far and away our community’s highest water demand is in the summer, which is also when farmers and fish have their highest demand in the river.”
The project involves pumping water from the Columbia River and storing it underground for use by Hermiston residents during peak water demand months, while allowing AWS access to some of the stored water to cool its data centers.
How it will work
“Rather than allowing valuable water resources to flow past all winter long, this project will capture and store that water so that we can continue to meet growing community demands without impacts to water usage from the Columbia River when it’s needed most by fish and farmers,” said Morgan.
The project will not cost Hermiston taxpayers anything, according to the city, as much of the necessary infrastructure is already in place, and AWS will pay for any drilling or construction costs.
Pumped water will be stored underground to be used by the City of Hermiston, residents and AWS, during peak water demand months in the summer.
“We have the pumping and delivery infrastructure, which we already paid for, just sitting there only operating at 20% all Winter long,” said Morgan.
Under the 25-year agreement reached with AWS, the City of Hermiston estimates that it will be able to store 3 billion gallons of water beyond what AWS uses for cooling purposes.
More information on the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project, including the Staff Report and City Council presentation and vote are available through the City of Hermiston.
Who will benefit
Water costs could be reduced in the future as the supply of available water increases, according to the city, with AWS returning at least 100 million gallons of water back to the city each year.
The unit rate for the regional water system may eventually drop under the agreement, as AWS has committed to purchasing the water it will use to cool its data centers every year and will be subject to the same water rates as other water customers in Hermiston.
The project is also expected to conserve water in Cold Springs Reservoir, which should allow the Hermiston Irrigation District (HID) to extend its irrigation season, benefiting local farmers.
Environmental and Safety Concerns
Water pumped and stored for use will be filtered through the City of Hermiston’s existing water treatment facility to drinking water standards.
“This water filtration system has been successfully and safely serving drinking water customers within Hermiston for nearly 30 years,” said Morgan.
Since water will be conserved in the Columbia River throughout the summer, fish populations are also expected to benefit from the project.
“This is a great win for the 4-F’s: Farmers, Fish, Factories, and Future Generations,” said Morgan.
Northeast Oregon Now reached out to AWS for comment on the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project and this story but have yet to hear back.
