By Phuong Le
The Associated Press
SEATTLE — Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a drought emergency for three regions in Washington state, including the Olympic Peninsula.
The declaration issued Friday clears the way for state officials to provide money and other relief to those experiencing drought hardships.
The emergency was prompted by near record-low mountain snowpack, which supplies much of the water in several regions when it melts in drier summer months.
Officials said the worst drought conditions are in the Olympic Peninsula, the east side of the central Cascade Mountains including Yakima and Wenatchee, and the Walla Walla region.
The state Department of Ecology has requested $9 million in drought relief from the Legislature.
The money, if approved, could be used to help drill emergency wells or deepen existing wells for cities, farms and fish hatcheries; lease water rights; or build pumps or pipelines.
Maia Bellon, Ecology’s director, said the state is primarily worried about water for agriculture uses as well as fish.
“We’re gearing up to help provide relief wherever we can when the time comes. Hardships are on the horizon,” she said.
Snowpack acts like “a frozen reservoir for our river basins,” Bellon said.
Snow that falls in the mountains during the winter typically melts slowly during spring and summer.
Low-flowing rivers in the summer also may affect fish, wildlife, livestock, municipal water supplies and hydropower production.
A statewide drought was last declared in 2005.
While there’s adequate water right now, officials expect shortages later in the season, said Kirk Cook, a hydrogeologist with the state Department of Agriculture.
Joe Stohr, deputy director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said drought also could lead to reduced stream flows that make it harder for fish to migrate or make them more vulnerable.
The state has had an unusually warm winter.
With snowpack statewide averaging 27 percent of normal, 34 of the state’s 62 watersheds are expected to receive less than 75 percent of their normal water supplies, officials said.
State officials had been hoping for a late-season snowstorm to turn things around, but that hasn’t happened, Bellon said.
The long-range forecast calls for drier conditions, and conditions are expected to get worse, she said.
So far, the weather conditions haven’t raised concerns for hydroelectric power production in the state.
“For us, things are not so bad,” said Michael Hansen, a spokesman with Bonneville Power Administration, which serves 128 utilities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana.
The agency markets power from 31 federal hydro projects in the Columbia River Basin and other plants.
Snowpack at higher elevations have been good, and “the reservoirs are about where we need them to be,” Hansen said Friday.
The main stem of the Columbia River basin is at 92 percent of average, and snowpack above Grand Coulee Dam is running above normal, Hansen said.
“We’re not anticipating that we’re going to have any problem meeting our obligation,” Hansen said.
“However, it’s still early.”
Water suppliers in the Seattle, Tacoma and Everett areas also are in decent shape and are not projecting much hardship, state officials said.
