Oregon Public Broadcasting

In Central Washington State, the Odessa Aquifer is running dry.

The state’s Potato Commission warns of an economic disaster if farmers don’t get replacement water from the Columbia River.

But now an environmental group says the Potato Commission’s predictions of an economic doomsday are exaggerated. Olympia correspondent Austin Jenkins reports.

Three years ago, the Washington State Potato Commission put out a report. It said if the potato industry collapsed -- due to lack of water -- it could cost the state $600 million and thousands of jobs.

Since then, Gov. Chris Gregoire has used those numbers to justify the further drawdown of Lake Roosevelt on the Columbia River.

There’s also talk of building more irrigation canals to reach farmers in the Odessa.

Rachael Paschal Osborn is with the Center for Environmental Law and Policy. She cites a new study that says the Potato Commission’s figures are inflated.

Rachael Paschal Osborn: “The figures are being used to justify the expenditure of tens of millions of dollars just to study getting water out to this place, much less actually building the infrastructure that would be required to do it.”

The Potato Commission defends its study and says potatoes are the bread and butter of central Washington.