Washington's DOE declares drought emergency

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Ecology issued a drought emergency for nearly all of the state July 14.

A drought emergency declaration means water supply is projected to be below 75% of average, and there is a risk of undue hardship to water users and uses.

"While the governor's drought declaration is welcome and expected news, it is long overdue for our part of the state," Senator Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville) said, a wheat farmer whose 9th Legislative District includes several counties that have faced drought conditions for months.

Seattle, Tacoma and Everett are excluded from the drought declaration, as they have stored water.

"It's just sad he waited so long, to do what was obvious. If you couldn't figure out we were having a drought, you're really living in a different realm," Schoesler said Monday, July 19. "But he had to get his fund-raising letters out on climate change before he could do it. It was really offensive to see how he could do his fund-raising letters, but he couldn't do a drought declaration when it was so obvious what was happening."

The DOE issued a drought advisory for 29 counties in late May, following the fourth-driest March through April on record, with dryness continuing into June. According to DOE, statewide averages of precipitation in March through June this year tied with 1926 as the second driest period since 1895.

Triple-digit temperatures in late June quickly worsened drought conditions.

A June 15 request to Governor Jay Inslee to declare a drought emergency by wheat industry officials was responded to June 24 by DOE Director Laura Watson, denying the request.

"Now Ecology, along with the departments of Fish and Wildlife, Agriculture, and Natural Resources, are reporting signs of stressed fish;" said a DOE spokesperson July 14, "farmers and ranchers are being forced to cut back on irrigation; and wildfires are burning through dry vegetation."

With a formal drought declaration in place, DOE is authorized to take certain measures for the purpose of providing emergency drought relief, including expediting processing for emergency drought permits, processing temporary transfers of water rights; providing funding assistance for public entities, and holding public education workshops.

"Once you have the actual drought declaration, it enables municipalities and others to access federal funds that don't cost us anything," Schoesler said. "That's part of the dilemma; a lot of this just opens a bureaucratic process at the state level, where it allows us to access federal funds. I think every governor I've served with has had to declare a drought declaration during their term or terms in office. Droughts occur every decade, and every governor in the past has had one. I don't understand the reason for waiting, other than the need to send out emails raising money about climate change. It was just too obvious."

"Our state and its 7.6 million residents are under attack from climate change; it touches every part of our lives right now," Inslee stated when declaring the drought emergency July 14. "It is menacing our world and our way of life in ways that demand and compel our full attention right now. It's a wave that is breaking on us right now, and that's why you could easily call this the summer of climate change."