YBSA Monthly Report October 2021

YBSA Monthly Report
October 2021

Storage: After the curtailment of irrigation water the current carryover through October 2021 is more than the average but less than last year. The capacity of storage at this time is 30% with Lake Cle Elum, our largest reservoir, at 23%.

Available Water: The Yakima Basin water supply has decreased over the years and additional water is necessary to maintain our agriculture use and instream flow for fish. A report on 60 Minutes discusses the potential for droughts. See video segment here. Drought effects all the Western States except Idaho, Montana and Washington. California has been losing 100,000 to 150,000 acres per year of irrigated land. That is like losing the equivalency of the entire Yakima River Basin Agriculture every 3 to 5 years!!!