Water Supply Continues To Decrease In Central Washington

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 drop from the April forecast which indicated that junior water rights holders were on target to receive 58% of their entitlements.

Meanwhile storage in the Yakima basin reservoirs on May 1st was 55% full, with 581,090 acre-feet, which is 73% of average.  Precipitation for the month of April was 51% of average, while October to April precipitation was 80.5% of average.  On May 1st, the amount of water in the snowpack, known as snow water equivalent, was 54% of average.

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