YAKIMA, Wash. – The Bureau of Reclamation’s April 2023 total water supply available forecast for the Yakima basin indicates the water supply will be adequate to meet irrigation demands this season. The April total water supply available for the April-September period indicates senior water rights will receive 100% of entitlements and junior water rights will receive 82% of entitlements.
Storage in Yakima basin reservoirs on April 1 reached half full at 533,018 acre-feet, which is 76% of average. Precipitation was 59% of average in March and was 72% of average for October-March. On April 1, the amount of water in the snowpack, known as snow water equivalent, was 94% of average.
Reclamation manages water in the five Yakima Project reservoirs, which is used along with other unregulated flows in the basin 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. Senior rights will not be reduced this year.
Reclamation will provide an updated water supply forecast monthly through July using the latest data each month to reflect changing conditions.
The April forecast is based on flows, precipitation, snowpack, and reservoir storage through April 1, along with estimates of future precipitation, river flows, and irrigation return flows. Other future weather conditions that determine the timing of the runoff and demand for water are also critical in determining stream flows, extent to which the reservoirs fill, and water supply for irrigation.
For more information, visit https://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/yakima/.
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