Department of Ecology declares drought in Yakima Basin watersheds
The Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) has declared drought conditions in Yakima Basin watersheds. The DOE made the following declaration: “Ecology issued a new drought declaration for the Upper Yakima, Lower Yakima, and Naches watersheds covering parts of Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton counties due to low Bureau of Reclamation Yakima Project storage after back-to-back droughts in 2023 and 2024.”
The declaration, amongst other provisions, allows for possible funding assistance to public entities like irrigation districts. It was based on a number of factors, which are listed on the DOE site and the Roza Irrigation District site.
One of the main reasons for the drought declaration and potential water rationing is the reservoir storage listed by the Roza Irrigation District is currently 39% of normal. Also, as stated on the DOE site: “On April 3, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation issued an April-September estimate of the Total Water Supply Available (TWSA) for proratable water right holders of 58%. This is very low and concerning for agricultural and fish needs in the Yakima Basin.”
Those impacted can track forthcoming details on the Roza Irrigation District site.
Drought declarations are, unfortunately, nothing new for Washington. Most recently, a statewide drought was declared April 16th 2024 and updated April 19th. That declaration is set to expire April 15th. The DOE also declared a drought emergency in 12 counties on July 24th 2023.
Michael Fagin contributed to this report.
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