A new study from the University of California Riverside shows the impacts from drought can last up to 3.5 years "There are two measures of drought in streams. One measure is the total water level, which is impacted by snowmelt…
During our 2023'a Celebrate Waters evening, CELP proudly presented Carla Carlson, retired Muckleshoot Analyst/Hydrologist with the Ralph Johnson Water Hero Award for her service and dedication to tribal water rights and instream flows around the state. During her 31 years…
It is hard to believe that we are already in October, and hopefully we will see the return of our typical October weather. We desperately need the rain and the snow in the mountains, but so far we have had…
This week, the US Energy Administration reduced its 2023 hydroelectric power forecast by 6% due to drought in Washington state. Washington is responsible for approximately half of the nation's power generation, but with early season heat melting snowpack at a…
A LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Hello! As summer fades into fall we are (finally!) getting some rain, though the state is still experiencing drier-than-normal weather. It will take a lot of rain to make up for the current drought…
RCW 43.83B.011(2)"Drought condition" means that the water supply for a geographic area, or for a significant portion of a geographic area, is below seventy-five percent of normal, and the water shortage is likely to create undue hardships for water users…
From: Seattle Times, August 7, 2023 As drought settled in over the Pacific Northwest this year, some electric utility managers did something unusual: They looked to California for hydropower. While the Golden State's reservoirs retained an abundant supply of water…
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Summer is in full swing, and thankfully we are being spared from the excessive heat plaguing most of the world right now. But because of the unusually dry spring we had most of the state is…
Department of Ecology News Release - July 18, 2023 New status, protections proposed for Soap Lake and the Cascade, Green, and Napeequa rivers OLYMPIA – In what would be a first for Washington state, the Department of Ecology is proposing to…
Washington Department of Ecology Declares Drought in 12 Counties Early snowmelt, a lack of spring rain, and low streamflows have prompted Ecology to declare a drought emergency for 12 watersheds in parts of Skagit, Whatcom, Clallam, Kittitas, Yakima, Snohomish, Jefferson,…
