Dropping Water Levels, Grande Ronde Aquifer.   Since measurements were started in the 1930s, water levels in the Grande Ronde Aquifer have been declining 1-2 feet per year.  50,000 people in the university towns of Pullman, WA and Moscow, ID and in outlying areas depend on this water.  Washington State is permitting WSU to mine this aquifer in violation of state law.   The WSU water rights decision would accelerate the mining of the Grand Ronde Aquifer. Local citizen groups -- concerned about their communities’ water future with a declining aquifer -- challenged the DOE’s decision.

Fossil Water. Irrigating WSU’s new 18-hole golf course with water from the Grande Ronde Aquifer.  Scotty Cornelius photo