YAKIMA, Wash. – The Bureau of Reclamation’s March 2024 forecast of total water supply available for the Yakima basin indicates the water supply will not fully meet irrigation demands this season. The early estimate of the Total Water Supply Available for the April–September period indicates senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements, but junior water rights will receive 72% of their full entitlements.
Storage in the Yakima Basin Reservoirs on March 1 was 38% full, with 405 thousand acre-feet, which is 64% of average. Precipitation for February was 71% of average and for October–February was 88% of average. On March 1, the amount of water in the snowpack, known as snow water equivalent, was 77% of average.
Reclamation manages the water in the five Yakima Project storage reservoirs, along with the basin’s unregulated inflows to fulfill water rights, water contracts and instream flow obligations. Water shortages in the basin are shared equally by the junior water rights, which represent over half of the water rights in the basin.
Reclamation will provide an updated water supply forecast monthly, at least through July, using the latest data each month to reflect changing conditions as they develop.
The March forecast is based on flows, precipitation, snowpack, and reservoir storage as of March 1 along with estimates of future precipitation and river flows. Other future weather conditions that determine the timing of the runoff and the demand for water also are critical in determining stream flows, the extent to which the reservoirs fill, and the water supply for irrigation.
For more information, visit Reclamation’s website at https://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/yakima/.