junior water rights

The water supply for central Washington continues to dwindle, and irrigation demands will not be met this season in the Yakima Basin.  The Bureau of Reclamation’s June Total Water Supply Available Forecast indicates senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements, but junior water rights will only receive 43% of their full entitlements this year.  That is a  decreas...

The water outlook for the Columbia Basin isn’t looking great, but things could change.  Larry Mattson, Director at the Office of the Columbia River, said a drier-than-normal winter seems to have left the Northwest with water supplies lower than normal.  But he acknow...

The Bureau of Reclamation released its April total water supply available forecast for the Yakima basin, which shows little change in the anticipated water supply for the season ahead.  Like the March report, this month’s forecast indicates the water supply will not fully meet irrigation demands this season.  The estimate ...

The Bureau of Reclamation is out with its final Yakima Basin water supply forecast of the season.  The October forecast indicates the senior water rights will receive 100% of their full entitlements, but junior water rights will receive 0% of their entitlements, which means no additional water.  Any use...

The Bureau of Reclamation’s July water supply forecast in encouraging news for central Washington Growers.  According to Reclamation, the Yakima basin water supply will fully satisfy all senior and junior users this irrigation season.  June com...

Irrigation water should not be an issue in the Yakima Basin, at least according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Reclamation. The Bureau’s June 2022 total water supply available forecast indicates the water supply will fully satisfy all senior and junior users this irrigation season. Rec ...

The wet, snowy weather the region saw last month, is translating into good news for central Washington irrigators. The Bureau of Reclamation’s May 2022 total water supply available forecast for the Yakima basin indicates the water supply will not only fully satisfy all senior users, but junior water rights holders will get their entire allotment at this point in the season. B ...

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 ...

Junior water rights holders in some areas of Idaho are potentially going to have less access to water after the state’s Department of Water Resources sent curtailment notices out last month. IDWR Deputy Director Mat Weaver says there have been conversations between senior and junior water rights holders about coming to an agreement for several years. “They’ve go ...

A water rights issue in Northwest Washington could have long-term and damaging impacts on the rights of farmers across the entire state, that according to Gerald Baron, Executive Director of Save Family Farming. The state Department of Ecology is currently moving toward the adjudication of water rights in the Nooksack Basin in Whatcom County ...