The state of Washington enacted a drought declaration due to the low snow pack in the mountains this past winter. The snow pack is supposed to provide Washington’s citizens with water throughout the dry season.

“On the east side (of Washington State) snow pack is especially important,” said Jeff Marti, Washington State Department of Ecology.

The precipitation that Washington usually gets during the winter fell as rain instead of snow Marti said. This was recognized early in the season, so Washington was able to take action accordingly.

The Yakima Basin’s five reservoirs are currently full, but without the snow pack, that’s what eastern Washington will have to meet it’s water demands throughout the summer, Marti said.

“Snow pack can account for one-third of the water supply,” said Ginny Stern, Hydrologist for the Office of Drinking Water.

According to Stern, a vast majority of Washington’s watersheds are already below normal. With the drought declaration already in effect, Washington officials are thinking about what they can do before citizens see any effects.

Lack of water doesn’t just affect farmers. Stern warned of the impact drought has on wildlife as well as water quality.

The less water Washington has in it’s reservoirs, the warmer the water becomes, making it a breeding ground for bacteria and algae Stern said. Stern also noted a concern for Washington’s fish runs.

Senior water right users are in no danger of getting their water supply cut, however it’s been estimated by the Department of Ecology that junior water right users could get their supply cut down to 60 percent as the summer goes on.

“Some users will have a reduced allocation,” said Marti. “The water supply situation is going to be challenging.”

California has recently enacted mandatory water supply reductions, Marti said he doesn’t see that happening here.

“We’re no where near the situation that California is in,” said Marti. “California hasn’t had winters where their reservoirs recover.”

For a drought to be declared the water supply for a geographical area or for a significant portion of a geographical area is below seventy-fiver percent of normal and the water shortage is likely to create undue hardships for various water uses and users – RCW 43.83B.400.

When nature doesn’t provide the needed water supply, states must rely on their reservoirs. California tends to rely on “home runs,” Marti said, in reference to their reliance on atmospheric rivers hitting the Sierra Nevada Mountain range.

With Washington’s annual rain and snowfall, it is less reliant on “big events,” Marti said.

Currently, Washington is not seeing any affects said Jim Armstrong, CEO of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce. However, the reservoirs may be as full as they’ll get before summer.