Many junior water-right holders in the Chehalis River Basin have lost their access to surface water for irrigation until streamflows improve, the state Department of Ecology announced earlier this month.
The Department of Ecology has ordered 93 junior water-right holders to stop diverting water from the Chehalis, Newaukum, Satsop and Wynoochee rivers until instream flows are met.
The curtailment order does not apply to indoor water use or water for livestock. Senior water-rights holders are not affected.
“We're required by law to protect senior water-right users and adopted streamflows to make sure there is enough water to meet the needs of people, farms and fish,” said Ecology in a press release. “One of the most effective tools for protecting streamflows is to adopt flow levels into state rule. Once instream flows are set, when actual streamflows drop below the adopted instream flow levels, junior water rights (those established after the instream flow in 1976) can be temporarily interrupted to keep water in the stream.”
Ecology issued the curtailment following an “unseasonably dry” April and May, according to a press release.
This year marks the seventh consecutive year the Department of Ecology has issued curtailment orders for the Chehalis Basin to comply with regulation requirements.
