OLYMPIA, Wash. — A drought emergency was declared in a dozen counties of Washington state on Monday because of early snowmelt, a lack of spring rain and low-flowing streams.
Some wells in Whatcom County in the northwestern part of the state are dry, and one water provider is hauling water in by truck, according to a Monday statement from the Washington Department of Ecology. Another provider will likely start trucking in water soon, officials said.
Ecology spokesperson Jimmy Norris told The Bellingham Herald that about 350 water customers in that area are affected.
“This drought is already harming Washington communities, businesses and farms, and it’s another sign of the damage that climate change is causing to our state,” Ecology Director Laura Watson said in the statement, adding that the state needs to prepare for a drier future.
In addition to Whatcom County, the declaration covers portions of Benton, Clallam, Columbia, Jefferson, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, Skagit, Snohomish, Walla Walla and Yakima counties.
The rest of the state is considered to be under a drought advisory, except for Seattle, Tacoma and Everett, according to Sabrina Register with Seattle Public Utilities.
May and June of this year ranked as the fourth warmest and 11th driest such period since 1895, ecology officials said. July and August are Washington state’s driest months, and the National Weather Service’s long-range forecast shows warmer than normal temperatures and below-average rainfall through October.
The emergency declaration allows state officials to curb water use and makes available $3 million that can be granted out to communities, irrigation districts, tribes and others hurt by the drought.
Seattle Public Utilities’ released this statement on our water supply:
Based on current water supply conditions, Seattle anticipates it will have enough water for people and fish this summer.
While the State issued a drought advisory on July 5, the advisory excludes customers served by Seattle. A map of that area can be found here:
Area Served by Seattle Regional System
After experiencing a drier than average winter and a fast, early snowmelt, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) took actions to store additional water in the Cedar River watershed. This allowed us to reach our water storage target this year.
The most up-to-date water supply conditions, showing precipitation, snowpack, reservoir storage, and consumption, are posted weekly on the SPU website (https://www.seattle.gov/utilities/your-services/water/water-supply-conditions). Over the summer, SPU will continue to carefully monitor our water supply and anticipate the return of the fall rains.
As always, we encourage customers to use water wisely. Good information about using water wisely can be found at https://www.savingwater.org/ .
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