Bureau says more than enough Yakima Project water in July

YAKIMA — The Bureau of Reclamation announced an updated water supply forecast for irrigators within the Yakima Project, reiterating previous forecasts that there is enough water to supply all users within the project.

According to a bureau press release, total precipitation in the region — rain and snow — from October 2021 through the end of June 2022 reached 117% of average, with precipitation for April, May and June reaching 167% of average, the fourth-highest on record.

As a result, the Yakima Project’s five reservoirs began July with slightly more than 1 million acre-feet of water, the bureau said, which will be drawn down slowly over the course of the summer to provide irrigation water to farmers within the project.

The forecast is based on both rainfall and snowpack measurements as well as current reservoir storage levels and water flows within the project, the bureau said. The bureau updates the Yakima Project water supply forecasts on a monthly basis.