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,…
It was with great sadness that we learned this week about the passing of esteemed tribal advocate, author, CELP Honorary Board member, and former law professor, Charles Wilkinson. He died in June at age 81. Wilkinson was a fierce legal…
The Whatcom County Council has voted to ban floating the shallow Nooksack River beginning July 25 in a bid to leave endangered Chinook salmon unperturbed as they ready for migration. Floating the Nooksack on inner tubes is a summer tradition…
On July 5, 2023, The Washington Department of Ecology issued a statewide drought advisory. The warmest May on record, coupled with an abnormally dry spring and early summer, has resulted in quickly declining water supplies and have prompted the Department…
A new perspective on hydrologic sensitivity to climate change has broad implications for water resources and ecosystems. "Mountain snowpacks act as natural water towers, storing winter precipitation until summer months when downstream water demand is greatest. We introduce a Snow…
Since 1964, the Columbia River Treaty, ratified by Canada and the United States, has governed the management of the Columbia River. The Treaty exclusively focused on flood control and power generation, ignoring the river’s fish, wildlife, and ecological requirements, as…
