Irrigators keeping eye on weather amid drought declaration

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — Irrigation districts in the upper Yakima Basin — where a drought has been declared — are hoping for enough mountain precipitation this spring to stave off any serious water rationing.

Gov. Jay Inslee issued a drought emergency for the upper basin after the Bureau of Reclamation reported a water forecast of only 74 percent supply in that area this season, one percentage point below the 75 percent that triggers such a declaration. The declaration allows irrigation districts and biologists to seek funds for closer monitoring and quicker initiation of drought relief programs.

The latest forecast drastically contrasts with early March, when this year's basinwide supply was predicted to be 90 percent of normal — an amount that hardly would have impacted farmers and fish.

But expected mountain precipitation didn't arrive in March, which caused the snowpack to fall further behind what is considered normal this time of year in the upper basin, said Chuck Garner, river operations supervisor for the Bureau of Reclamation.

"We had projected to get 80 to 85 percent precipitation in March," he said. "But when we went through March and didn't get what we predicted — we only got like 22, 23 percent — that dropped our prediction."

Irrigators and biologists are hoping for more precipitation in the right areas and that the weather remains relatively cool through the remainder of spring, said Perry Harvester, regional habitat program manager with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"All eyes now are really on how the snowpack comes off and some of the smaller tributaries where headwaters didn't get much snowpack," Harvester said. "The later that snowpack comes off, the better for fish, irrigators and everyone through the end of the season."

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