yakima basin

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 latest forecast shows little change for central Washington irrigators.  The Bureau of Reclamation’s May 2025 Total Water Supply Available Forecast for the Yakima Basin indicates senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements, while junior water rights will receive 51% of their full entitlements.  This is a slight d...

Snowpack and reservoir levels are already creating concerns for irrigators in the Yakima Basin.  But it looks like, according to one expert, that Mother Nature will help in other ways this year.  When it comes to the temperatures growers can expect this season, Drew Lerner, Senior Agricultural Meteorologist at World Weather, Inc., said central Wash...

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...

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 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 first water supply forecast of the year, and it looks like the Yakima basin may have a challenging irrigation season ahead.  Reclamation’s March 2025 total water supply available forecast indicates the water supply will not fully meet irrigation demands this season.  The early est...

As of February 13th, the Washington Department of Ecology said it was too early to tell if enough snowpack had accumulated to lift the 2024 drought declaration.  Experts are concerned that at this point, it will take more snow than Washington will likely see before the spring to offset the dry conditions the state experienced last year.   ...

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...

Earlier this month, the Bureau of Reclamation announced its August 2024 forecast of total water supply available for the Yakima basin.  Those figures indicate the water supply will not fully meet irrigation demands this season.  The total water supply available for the May 21-September 30 period indicates senior water rights will receive 100% of full entitlements, while junior water rights will re