(The Center Square) – University of Washington Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Cliff Mass says the Washington Department of Ecology should “definitively correct misinformation being pushed” about a pending drought emergency.
The claim that this summer represents a drought emergency for Washington State is “simply and demonstrably false,” wrote Mass in a May 18 blog post.
In a Tuesday interview with The Center Square, Mass said reservoirs are fuller than normal, and annual precipitation is at or above normal.
“If the reservoirs are full, and they are full, and they’re going to remain full for a little while, there’s never been a problem,” Mass said. “The facts are so damn clear.”
Karin Bumbaco, Deputy State Climatologist at the University of Washington disagrees with Mass’s assessment that there will be no drought emergency.
“Washington State has a drought definition written into state law. It allows for the drought to be declared before conditions are really being felt, right?” said Bumbaco in a Tuesday interview with The Center Square.
“So, part of it is to prepare for conditions that might be coming later in the spring and summer, and that’s exactly what the state has done,” she added.
Mass writes about the situation in detail in his blog.
“Much of Yakima and Kittitas agriculture gets its water from the Yakima River, with some contributions from the Columbia on the eastern side. Everyone agrees that the Columbia will have plenty of water this year, so there is no suggestion of drought for the majority of the irrigated land in eastern Washington.”
Snowpack is down for 2026, peaking at just 52% of normal on April 1. That deficit is what prompted Ecology to issue a statewide emergency drought declaration.
Mass says snowpack is only critical for water supply in late spring and early summer.
“During the middle and end of summer when they [agricultural interests] really need the water, it’s the reservoirs,” Mass said. “There will be no problem, because those reservoirs are full. It’s as simple as that.”
Bumbaco agreed with part of that assessment.
“I agree with him in the sense that current conditions right now at this very moment look good,” said Bumbaco. “We’re under overcast skies and we’ve had a little bit of a rainy period. Our reservoirs are full, but what we’re looking at is how we expect things to get worse over the spring and summer.”
She noted having conversations this week with members of the Roza Irrigation District about water restrictions for growers with junior water rights, who will begin seeing reduced water this week.
“We have been informed this morning that prorationing will occur on Thursday May 21. Roza crews will begin shutting the system down Thursday morning,” noted a post on the Roza Irrigation District site Tuesday.
“We will be off for about 10 days (from the cessation of diversions at Roza dam on May 21). The exact length of the shutdown will be determined next week based on the weather forecast.”
Bumbaco said future projections don’t bode well.
“We know for sure that the reduced water supply in and of itself is an issue,” said Bumbaco. “So right now, the US Bureau of Reclamation is estimating that the total water supply available for May through September is only 52% of a normal allotment for the junior water users. So. that in and of itself is an impact in my view.”
Still, Mass suggests Ecology and those insisting there is a drought emergency are pushing a climate change agenda without facts to back up their policy.
“The Drought Emergency Declaration by Washington State should be dropped immediately. Washington State residents deserve accurate information,” Mass wrote in his May 18 blog post.
“Washington agriculture should not be undermined by ill-advised, unscientific declarations.”
Bumbaco said there is precedent for Ecology backing off the “emergency drought declaration” if there is no evidence to support the claim in the coming months.
“On May 17, 2022, the Washington State Department of Ecology, with Governor Inslee’s approval, extended the drought declaration that was issued in 2021 for five watersheds in the northeastern portion of the state. The rest of Eastern Washington was included in a Drought Advisory that was issued to promote early awareness of the possible development of drought conditions. As a result of the cool and wet spring, both the Drought Advisory and Drought Emergency were lifted on July 19,” read part of a post emailed to TCS.
