Central Washington Water Availability Shows Slight Improvement

The Bureau of Reclamation says while water supplies will not be fully met this irrigation season, the forecast has improved slightly month-over-month.  The April Total Water Supply Available Forecast for the Yakima basin shows senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements this irrigation season, while junior water rights will receive 52% of their entitlements.

This is an improvement from the 44% expected last month.

Reclamation noted storage in the Yakima basin reservoirs to start this month was 92% full with 972,559 acre-feet, which is 139% of average.  Precipitation in the month of March was 239% of average and precipitation for the water year, October–March, was 122% of average.

Snowpack to start the month was only 47% of average.

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 noted the April forecast is based on flows, precipitation, snowpack, and reservoir storage as of April 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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