As the Yakima Basin experiences its third consecutive year of drought, the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) has decided to take significant action.

In an unprecedented move, DOE halted surface water use from Oct. 6 to the end of the month, the agency announced in a news release Wednesday.

The drought has caused historically low reservoir storage and streamflows, according to DOE.

“We have not experienced a drought like this in over 30 years, and it’s forcing us to take actions we’ve never done before,” Ria Berns, Ecology’s Water Resources program manager, said via the news release. “We know that restricting water diversions will impact communities across the Yakima Basin, but this is a necessary step to protect water for fish and senior water rights in the face of continu

See Full Page