http://droughtreporter.unl.edu/

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Kennewick Irrigation District implemented a mandatory watering schedule for its customers beginning July 7 as drought conditions intensify. This is the first mandatory restriction for residential irrigation since the drought of 2015, but unlike 2015, it ought to be in place for three to four weeks instead of most of the summer. Water restrictions were already in effect for KID agricultural water users. Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, Wash.), June 24, 2024 The Bureau of Reclamation’s June irrigation forecast for the Yakima Basin for the May 21-September 30 period estimated that junior water rights holders would receive 47% of the full entitlements, while senior water rights holders will receive 100%. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, June 6, 2024 Parts of the Northwest did not receive enough precipitation, and the low to mid-elevation snowpack was mostly nearly gone across much of Washington. Some irrigators relying on water from the Yakima River are junior water rights holders and will get just 54% of a full allotment of water this year. The water shortage means that some growers will have to ration all summer and may lose irrigation water in August or September instead of mid-October. A pinot noir wine grape grower pulled out his thirsty vines and planted baby concord juice grape vines that require about 10 to 12 inches of water annually, or half of the amount of water that the pinot noir vines needed. Northwest Public Broadcasting (Pullman, Wash.), May 6, 2024 The Washington Department of Ecology anticipates that the Yakima Basin will have about 72% of its normal water supply for the 2024 irrigation season and urged people to be mindful of their water use. A drought emergency was declared in the Yakima Basin in July 2023, and it remains in effect through June 30. The emergency could be extended. Ecology anticipates issuing curtailment notices to junior water right users in the Yakima Basin to prevent water levels from dropping further, according to a press release on 2024 water level predictions. KNDU-TV NBC 5 Kennewick (Wash.), March 20, 2024