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Hermiston plans ASR winter storage to supply future data centers and bolster summer supplies
Summary
Council heard that Hermiston will begin injecting treated river water into a newly drilled ASR well starting next week to store roughly 360 million gallons/year for summer use; staff said future data centers will be supplied from that winter‑stored water and partners will commit additional annual injection.
City staff presented an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) plan intended to reduce summer Columbia River withdrawals by injecting treated potable water into a new ASR well during low‑demand months. The presentation said the city expects to inject about 60 million gallons per month from October through March and plan to store roughly 360 million gallons per year; the first injection operations were described as starting the following Monday after receiving a limited license.
Staff emphasized this is a Hermiston plan, not a data‑center specific program: the city intends to supply future data centers with winter‑stored ASR water rather than summer‑pulled Columbia River water. The presenter said city water‑supply agreements with data‑center partners include commitments to inject extra water (cited as 100 million gallons per year) so the ASR project could be net positive for the aquifer over time. "Our plan is to only be injecting about 60 million gallons of water every month from October through March," the presenter said; staff also noted an expected ~5% retention in the aquifer and that pilot injections will be monitored before scaling up.
