Reclamation: Yakima Basin Water Rights Should Be Covered
It appears, that senior and junior water rights in the Yakima basin will be satisfied this irrigation season. According to the Bureau of Reclamation’s March 2022 total water supply forecast, precipitation was 113% of average from October to February and 100% of average for February. On March 1st, the amount of water in the snowpack, known as snow water equivalent, was 93% of average. Reservoirs storage on March 1 was 786,000 acre feet, 124% of average and 74% full.
Reclamation manages the water in the five Yakima Project storage reservoirs, along with the basin’s unregulated inflows to fulfill water rights, water contracts and instream flow obligations. Water shortages in the basin are shared equally by the junior water rights, which represent over half of the water rights in the basin. Reclamation will provide an updated water supply forecast monthly—at least through July—using the latest data each month to reflect any changing conditions as they develop.
The March forecast is based on flows, precipitation, snowpack, and reservoir storage as of March 1st, along with estimates of future precipitation and river flows. Other future weather conditions that determine the timing of the runoff and the demand for water also are critical in determining stream flows, the extent to which the reservoirs fill, and the water supply for irrigation.
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