Governor Inslee declares more areas in drought- Ecology in drought response for almost half of Washington

ECY Washington

On April 17, 2015 Governor Jay Inslee declared a drought in 13 river basins in Washington state.

• Governor expands drought emergency to include more Washington river basins

The drought declarations bring to 24 the total number of Washington’s watersheds in drought emergencies, 44 percent of the total area of the state.  

Snowpack statewide has declined to 24 percent of normal, worse than when the last statewide drought was declared in 2005.  Snowpack is like a frozen reservoir for river basins, in a typical year accumulating over the winter and slowly melting through the spring and summer providing a water supply for rivers and stream.  This year run-off from snowmelt for the period April through September is projected to be the lowest on record in the past 64 years.

The 16 river basins declared April 17 to be in drought, like the three regions declared in March, qualified for the declarations because they met this criteria under state law:

• Snowpack in the basins is at 75 percent of normal levels or below
• Hardships for people, farms and fish are expected because of water shortages resulting from significantly below normal run-off from snowmelt.

Drought relief work under way

Once an area has been declared in drought, it can qualify for drought relief funds that can be used for leasing water rights for irrigators, deepening wells or drilling emergency wells.  Ecology has requested $9 million from the Legislature for drought relief but began its drought relief work with existing funds immediately after Gov Inslee declared drought  March 13 in three regions:

• The east slope of the Central Cascades including the Upper and Lower Yakima, Naches, Wenatchee and Entiat river watersheds.
• The Walla Walla River watershed including portions of Walla Walla and Columbia counties.
• The Olympic Peninsula, primarily in Jefferson and Clallam counties.  Specific watersheds include the Quilcene-Snow, Elwha-Dungeness, Lyre-Hoko, Sol Duc-Hoh and Queets-Quinault.

Emergency Drought Applications

Where a drought emergency has been declared, Ecology is authorized to issue emergency drought permits.  See more information

Region Specific Drought Information

The March 13 drought declaration regions are:

1. The east slope of the Central Cascades including the Upper and Lower Yakima, Naches, Wenatchee and Entiat river watersheds.
2. The Walla Walla River watershed including portions of Walla Walla and Columbia counties.
3. The Olympic Peninsula,  primarily in Jefferson and Clallam counties.  Specific watersheds include the Quilcene-Snow, Elwha-Dungeness, Lyre-Hoko, Sol Duc-Hoh and Queets-Quinault.

Walla Walla River Basin

• Drought questions and answers in the Walla Walla Basin

Wenatchee River Basin

• Drought questions and answers: conditioned water rights under the 2007 Wenatchee River stream flow rule

Olympic Peninsula

• Drought questions and answers for the Olympic Peninsula – Lyre/Hoko, Sol Duc/Hoh, and Queets/Quinault Basins
• Drought questions and answers for the Olympic Peninsula – Elwha/Dungeness

Yakima River Basin

• 2015 Yakima River Tributary Reverse Water Right Auction – April 7-8, 2015 Workshop presentation
  • Search begins for water in the Yakima Basin – 04/01/2015 Ecology News Release
• View BOR news release – April 6, 2015  The Bureau of Reclamation released the Yakima Basin Water Supply – April Forecast that indicates a full water supply for senior water rights during the 2015 irrigation season, but an estimated 60 percent supply for junior water rights.  Ecology is evaluating impacts on the $1.4 billion agricultural industry.
• Drought questions and answers in the Yakima Basin

Statewide

• Ecology Director Maia Bellon’s March 17, 2015, drought declaration order for specific areas in the three regions: Yakima River Basin, Wenatchee and Entiat Basins, Walla Walla Basin and  the Olympic Peninsula.
• Governor Jay Inslee’s March 17, 2015,  letter authorizing Ecology Director Maia Bellon to declare a drought emergency in three designated regions.
• Governor declares drought in three state regions March 13, 2015

Forecasts and water supply information

• The Water Supply Availability Committee (WSAC) meets to discuss information on water supply monitoring and water supply forecasts.
• Current reports on water supplies in Washington state are available at Washington Water Supply Information.
• Washington SNOTEL Current Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) % of Normal – View Map
• Columbia River mainstem: 83 percent of average for APR-SEP, no mandatory water rationing – View Report

Drought declaration process

State law allows Ecology to declare a drought emergency if we determine that all or part of a geographical area is suffering from drought conditions.  This is done with the written approval of the Governor, acting under the advice of the Water Supply Availability Committee and the state Executive Water Emergency Committee.

• Drought Laws and Rules

Unlike most states, Washington has a legal definition of drought.  It requires that two conditions be met and it differs from the drought rating scale applied by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  The two conditions are:

• An area has to be experiencing or projected to experience a water supply that is below 75 percent of normal, and
• Water users within those areas will likely incur undue hardships as a result of the shortage.

Once Ecology declares a drought at the direction of the Governor, we can provide drought relief funding for those experiencing hardships and to boost stream flows for fish.

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/drought/