washington department of ecology

The Washington Department of Ecology has expanded the drought emergency declared in April.  Ecology declared drought for the Yakima Basin watersheds on April 8, while issuing a drought advisory for Puget Sound region and portions of the Central and North Cascades.  Since t...

If you own land, or you’re thinking about buying, water rights are an important detail to know.  Whether you're trying to understand them, trying to get them, or trying to find them, water rights are complicated.  But to help land owners, or would be landowners, the Washington Department of Ecology has unveiled a new, interactive Water Resources Web Map.  DOE says this new map w...

With temperatures across the Northwest warming, and the start of Summer less than three weeks away, farmers, ranchers and producers are being reminded of the importance of water conservation.   “Drought cannot only develop due to water supply shortages stemming from below normal snowpack, but drought can also develop, especially during the summer, due to high temperatures driving high evaporative

According to the state Department of Ecology, drought conditions continue in central Washington and may be developing in the northern and even western parts of the state.  And the recent Water Supply Availability Committee meeting indicated existing drought conditions are likely to persist through the summer, and in some areas, conditions may worsen. T...

Last month, the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board ordered state officials to rewrite pollution discharge permit regulations for concentrated animal feeding operations, better known as CAFOs.  The order was issued after a challenge from environmental groups that complained that previous regulations violated state and federal law.  The com...

For the 3rd year in a row, the Washington Department of Ecology has declared a drought emergency in central Washington.  Ecology noted in Tuesday’s announcement that back-to-back droughts in 2023 and 2024 took their toll on Upper Yakima, Lower Yakima and Naches watersheds, causing significant deficits in precipitation and soil moisture.   The De...

The snowpack in several locations across Washington is not very good for this time of year, which has many people concerned about the possibility of drought.  When talking about drought, the state Department of Ecology is not just talking about the here and now, but also the potential for drought this summer across the Evergreen State.  And tha...

On Tuesday, the Washington Senate held its first public hearing on House Bill 1912, the Fix to the Climate Commitment Act.  That hearing took place in the Environment, Energy & Technology Committee.  State senator Mark Schoesler said he feels the legislation sponsored by Representative Tom Dent is in good shape in the Senate.   “We have leaders li...

The Washington Department of Ecology say water users in the Nooksack watershed and adjacent areas should begin receiving their adjudication claim forms via certified mail this week.  The mailing list includes about 30,000 landowners.  Ecology...

Thursday, March 6th, was the halfway point of the Washington legislative session.  How has the farming community fared this go around in Olympia?   “We've not seen a lot of the bad stuff that we had expected," noted Colfax Representative Joe Schmick.  "But so far so goo...