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Department of Ecology News Release - August 28, 2001
01-148
OLYMPIA - Following is the Department of Ecology's (Ecology) weekly report about the status of drought conditions in Washington, assistance being provided by state agencies, and what citizens can do to conserve and share water.
Status of drought conditions
Last week, buckets of rain poured down in many parts of Washington. However, those rains may have provided only short-term relief to streams that have very little water this year, and it is still unknown how long the benefits of those rains will last.
Since October 2000, precipitation has been between 60 percent of average at the Columbia River, above the Methow, to 74 percent of average at the Cedar, Snoqualmie, Skykomish and Tolt rivers.
"We keep comparing this year's drought to the 1977 drought, and ask which drought is worse," said Doug McChesney, the drought response coordinator for Ecology. "It is looking like we will ultimately fare a little better this year than in 1977, but we continue to fear that this year's drought in terms of fire damage, fish kills and the losses to agriculture-related businesses may be taking a worse toll than the drought of 1977."
The droughts of 1977 and 2001 show striking similarities
Although the 1977 drought was the worst on record, this year's drought rivals it for low water levels and hardships to communities, farmers and fish. Following are some data about how the drought affected Washington state by late August 1977 compared to late August 2001.
In 1977, August was hot and dry, with heat waves of upper 90-degree temperatures in Western Washington and temperatures approached 110 degrees in Eastern Washington. Stream flows in most large rivers ranged between 30 and 70 percent of normal, while many small streams went dry. Low water flows increased water temperature and caused algae blooms, oxygen-depleted waters and fish kills. Declines in groundwater levels resulted in dry springs. 2001: The water supply forecasts for major rivers in Washington are well below normal, ranging from 41 to 70 percent of normal. In some areas of the state, stream flows continue to be below typical levels, including the Columbia River at The Dalles, which is at 55.6 million -acre-feet (MAF), compared with 142 MAF for the average.
In 1977, 105 water-supply systems reported they were experiencing or anticipating problems; 16 reported imminent problems in Chelan, Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Kittitas, Okanogan, Pacific, Pierce, Pend Oreille, Stevens and Whatcom counties. 2001: Water system operators told the Department of Health that relatively cool summer weather has helped most systems around the state during the drought. The system operators said their effective management and close monitoring of water systems and sources of water have helped systems. In addition, good conservation messages have improved the water-use habits of customers. Still, late summer and early fall are expected to be quite dry, and the long-term stress of drought conditions could affect vulnerable systems.
In 1977, a $330 to $410 million loss to the gross state product was estimated over a two-year period. Forecasters predicted that the aluminum industry would be hit the hardest, with major losses in agriculture and service industries, such as ski areas. 2001: There is 24 percent less available water this year in the Yakima River Basin than in 1977. This year's apple harvest is expected to be 76 million boxes, or 22.3 percent, less than last year's harvest because of the drought, the June storm that destroyed as many as 10 million boxes of apples, and an estimated 20,000 acres of orchards removed because of depressed prices. The total effect of the water shortage on perennial crops, especially apple and other fruit trees, will not be evident until next year, when the stresses of drought may affect a second-year crop.
In 1977, 7,500 to 10,000 jobs were expected to be lost because of layoffs in the aluminum and agricultural industries. 2001: Job losses in the agricultural sector are predicted to be between 5,600 to 8,900 jobs.
In 1977, 1,042 forest fires had burned approximately 6,600 acres. 2001: As of yesterday, Washington's federal, state and private forests had 987 fires that burned nearly 221,661 acres.
In 1977, adult salmon returning to the Dungeness River had problems passing through the river system because of low water levels. Low water at the Grays, Elochoman, Kalama Falls and Toutle hatcheries increased the water temperature, resulting in diseases in the fish. Low water at the Yakima trout hatchery resulted in a loss of 60,000 trout fry. 2001: Reduced water flow has caused numerous fish-passage problems on the American River, Rattlesnake Creek and other tributaries to the Yakima River, with the loss of some fish. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife crews have been correcting water-flow problems at the Toutle and Puyallup hatcheries. Simple alterations in stream flow are expected to solve the problem at the Toutle hatchery, but the situation is more serious at the Puyallup hatchery, which produces a majority of the rainbow trout planted in northwest Washington. Declining water flow from the area aquifer has forced the hatchery crew to release some fish early, move others to alternate facilities and bring in pumps to avoid losing those that remain.
In 1977, Ecology had issued 400 temporary ground-water permits to help farmers and communities drill more wells. 2001: Ecology has issued 162 temporary emergency water-right permits and changes of existing water rights.
Conservation tips for this week
Care for plants - weed and prune plants regularly to ensure water goes where
it is needed.
Say "no thanks" to a glass of water in a restaurant, unless it will be drunk.
Contact: Mary Getchell, Public Information Manager, 360-407-6157; 360-534-8590 (pager)
Ecology's drought Web site:
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/drought/droughthome.html (Link removed
12/01/2003)
Governor's drought Web site: http://www.governor.wa.gov/drought/drought.htm
Ecology's drought hotline: 800-468-0261
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
