Local News

Governor Inslee adds Okanogan County to Drought Declaration


Apr 17, 2015

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On Friday, Governor Jay Inslee declared a drought in 13 river basins in Washington state, including the Okanogan River.

The Governor’s announcement said the worsening drought and snowpack conditions in Washington prompted the expansion in the state’s drought emergency. Nearly half the state is now expected to experience hardships from this year’s drought.

Inslee said, “This is an ongoing emergency and we’re going to have some long, hard months ahead of us. We’re moving quickly so that we’re prepared to provide relief to farms and fish this summer.”

With more snow lost than added over the past month, runoff from snowmelt this summer is projected to be the lowest on record in 64 years. Snowmelt feeds rivers and streams, and in turn provides critical water supply for farms and fish.

The drought declarations bring to 24 the total number of Washington’s watersheds in drought emergencies, 44 percent of the total area of the state.

Snowpack statewide has declined to 24 percent of normal, worse than when the last statewide drought was declared in 2005.  Snowpack is like a frozen reservoir for river basins, in a typical year accumulating over the winter and slowly melting through the spring and summer providing a water supply for rivers and stream. 

The 16 river basins declared April 17 to be in drought, like the three regions declared in March, qualified for the declarations because they met this criteria under state law:

  • Snowpack in the basins is at 75 percent of normal levels or below
  • Hardships for people, farms and fish are expected because of water shortages resulting from significantly below normal run-off from snowmelt.

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