YAKIMA, Wash. – The Bureau of Reclamation’s June 2026 total water supply available forecast for the Yakima basin indicates the water supply will not fully meet irrigation demands this season. Yakima Basin Project went on prorationing and storage control May 21, 2026. The estimate of the total water supply available for the May 21-September 30 period indicates senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements and junior water rights will receive 52% of their full entitlements. This 52% value remains unchanged from the early May forecast.
Storage in the Yakima basin reservoirs on June 1 was 94% full with 998,008 acre-feet, which is 105% of average. Precipitation for May was 57% of average and for October–May was 115% of average. On June 1, the amount of water in the snowpack, known as snow water equivalent, was 0% 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 June forecast is based on flows, precipitation, snowpack, and reservoir storage as of June 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/.
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