4 days ago
Drought emergency hits Pierce County, much of Western Washington
The Washington State Department of Ecology declared a large portion of Pierce County under drought emergency at a press conference Thursday, although Tacoma was spared.
The emergency declaration includes a large part of the Puget Sound area and central Cascade mountains, impacting 22 watersheds, said Casey Sixkiller, director of the DOE. The declaration allows the state to use relief tools, such as expediting emergency water right transfers and providing emergency drought grants to public entities — there is $4.5 million available this year to support those actions, he said.
'For most of the people who live in the major metro areas of the Puget Sound region and get their water from Seattle, Tacoma, or Everett, those reservoirs and water supplies are in good shape,' Sixkiller said. 'The utility companies do not expect hardship for their customers.'
However, some rural and agricultural areas in the Puget Sound will see impacts, including to the habitats of salmon and other fish, Sixkiller added.
Karin Bumbaco, Washington's deputy state climatologist, said above-normal April temperatures and below-normal April and May precipitation have been the main drivers of the drought. April's statewide average temperature was about two degrees Fahrenheit above normal, she said, and snowpack peaked in March, almost two weeks earlier than usual.
Bumbaco added that total April and May precipitation was less than 60% of the normal rainfall for most of the state, creating below-normal stream flows in rain-dominated basins. Seasonal forecasts are predicting a likelihood of above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation for the summer, she said, and officials expect those trends to continue in the years to come.
'It is important to remember that we expect droughts to be more severe and more frequent in the future,' Bumbaco said.
DOE statewide drought lead Caroline Mellor said a drought means water supply conditions are much worse than normally expected in a watershed. She added the drought declaration does not affect many Eastern Washington counties, which tend to be drier areas of the state, because they may not be drier than normally expected.
'That snowpack is so important as it serves as a natural storage for our water supply,' Mellor said. '.... Now with these earlier melt-offs, and lower-than-normal precipitation, that is a major concern for impacts to fish, and agriculture, and potentially drinking water in smaller systems later in the summer.'
Bumbaco also said the likelihood of wildfire spread is higher with the ongoing drought conditions. According to the National Interagency Fire Center's June outlook, the Eastern half of Washington is considered above normal for significant wildland fire potential — current estimates broaden that designation to cover most of Washington in July, and to completely encompass the state in August and September.
In April, a drought advisory was initially declared for a large portion of Pierce County, but not the Tacoma area. Previously, in April 2024, an emergency drought declaration was also in place for most of the state, except for the Seattle, Tacoma and Everett areas. In 2023, Pierce County was involved in a statewide drought advisory, but did not see a drought emergency declared.
This is the third consecutive year in which snowpack deficits or early melt have impacted the water supply in Washington, Sixkiller said.
'We've declared drought in six of the past ten years. Low water supplies are becoming routine in Washington, and that includes on the wetter West side of our state,' Sixkiller added. 'Washington's water supply infrastructure is simply designed for precipitation and temperature patterns that are changing and are no longer reliable.'
