The Dungeness River is a mere trickle of its former self, and the Elwha is not far behind.
Both rivers are major sources of water for key population centers in Clallam County, and both have reached levels low enough to meet the state definition of drought conditions.
But officials are not using the “D” word just yet.
According to Dan Partridge, communications manager for the state Department of Ecology’s Water Resources Program, there are two conditions that must be met in order for the governor to declare drought conditions.
The Dungeness and Elwha — currently the two Peninsula flashpoint rivers for the “D” word — are halfway there.
The first condition is a water flow that is at least 75 percent less than average for the time period.
On Monday, the Dungeness was at 52 percent, while the Elwha was at 60 percent, according to the U.S. Geological Survey “Water Watch” Web site, http://tinyurl.com/pbkv39.
The other condition is a level of water supply that causes “undue hardship” on users.
That point is more nebulous.
“There is no set definition,” Partridge said. “You know it when you see it.”
One indicator is reports of water wells going dry.
Partridge said that hasn’t happened yet, but it’s not too soon for people to start conserving water in areas with a low water supply.
Dungeness cuts
Ben Smith, president of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Agricultural Water Users Association, said association members have been asked to start conserving voluntarily.
The only public water consumption the association can control is pond filling.
Smith said when the river flow rate drops below 120 cubic feet per second, or cfs, voluntary conservation measures go into effect.
That low mark was passed over the weekend, and by Monday, the flow rate of the Dungeness was at 116 cfs.
Irrigation users are only allowed to take 50 percent of the water from the Dungeness. As the level drops, so does the volume of water they have access to.
“With everybody aware and cutting back, we will be able to stay below 50 percent,” he said.
“We know it’s tight, and it’s going to get tighter.”
While the river-feeding Olympic Mountains had a high snowpack last winter — essentially a water supply “bank” — the unusually warm weather caused that to be depleted much more quickly than normal.
Nash Huber, owner of Nash’s Organic Produce in the Dungeness Valley, said the warm weather has been a mixed blessing.
“This is one of the best crop years ever,” he said.
He has been able to grow warm weather crops — including sweet corn and vine-ripened tomatoes — better associated with California than the Northwest.
Huber has seen many seasonal fluctuations in his 40 years of farming in the valley. He compared the current situation to drought conditions of 2004.
“This is different than five years ago,” he said.
“Then there was no snow — this year, there was a 100 percent snowpack but warmer weather.”
He noted a true worst-case scenario would be a year with a low snowpack followed by a hot summer.
The Clallam County Public Utility District is monitoring the water situation in Morse Creek, which affects county water customers not on private wells.
Jeff Beaman, executive communications coordinator, said the PUD’s drought response plan goes into effect when Morse Creek — the drainage east of Port Angeles — dips to a flow of 25 cfs.
“It looked like it would reach that point earlier [last week], but the rains have given some relief,” he said.
The creek is now around 30 cfs.
The stream flow is an indicator of the water levels in the underground aquifer from which the PUD draws the public water supply.
The PUD plan does not enforce mandatory restrictions but lists ways in which customers can conserve water.
These include alternate days of outdoor watering and vehicle washing curtailment.
Port Angeles, Forks
The city of Port Angeles draws water from a 60-foot well next to the Elwha River.
No drought concerns have been voiced — the river is fed by two huge, dam-controlled lakes — but City Water Superintendent Ernie Klimek was unavailable for comment.
In the West End, Forks is benefiting from its rainy reputation, with water levels reported at normal levels.
Dave Zeller, director of public works for Forks, said the water level is similar to the level in 2006: a little lower than normal, but not alarming.
“We’ve seen it like this before,” he said. “We’re not worried.”
The city draws its water from five deep wells, but the nearby Calawah River was running at less than half of normal on Monday.
Port Townsend lake
In Jefferson County, the city of Port Townsend began drawing water from its Lords Lake reservoir the first week of August to supplement that drawn from the Big Quilcene River, to preserve water for juvenile and spawning salmon.
Ian Jablonski, Port Townsend water resource manager, said it’s not uncommon to draw reserve water from the lake, although the action is usually taken in late August or September.
In his 16 years as water resource manager, he did not recall tapping the lake this early.
He said there is no metering system on the lake to monitor how much water is taken, but the amount will increase if the river flow continues to drop.
Still, the city is asking residents to take voluntary water conservation measures.
The amount of water that may be drawn from rivers is regulated by the state to protect water species habitat.
Jefferson PUD wells
Approximately 3,000 Jefferson County Public Utility District customers can breathe easy.
Bill Graham, PUD water resources manager, has been monitoring the PUD’s wells and reports that they are normal.
In fact, some are even higher than normal.
“It’s a mixed bag,” he said. “It was a bit of a surprise.”
Graham credits the cool, wet spring with reducing evaporation and plant use of ground water.
The large majority of the PUD’s customers use the well system, which are unaffected by river flow rates or water levels.
But don’t build that water park in Chimacum just yet.
“We still want people to conserve and use water wisely,” he said.
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Features Editor Marcie Miller can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at marcie.miller@peninsula dailynews.com.
