1. We are seeing late summer flows that we normally see after Labor Day, and Summer has just begun… Mike Gallagher Water Resources Program – Southwest Region June 26, 2015

2. Washington State’s Drought Trigger RCW 43.83B.400

3. Administrative Drought Trigger Water supply conditions where a geographical area or a significant part of a geographical area is receiving, or is projected to receive, less than seventy-five percent of normal water supply as the result of natural conditions and the deficiency causes, or is expected to cause, undue hardship to water users within that area.[WAC 173-166-030(2)]

4. Describing geographic areas for the purpose of declaring droughts "Geographical area" can be natural or political. Examples: (a) The state of Washington. (b) Counties. (c) Water resource inventory areas (WRIAs) as defined in chapter 173-500 WAC. 173-500 (d) Individual watersheds which constitute only a portion of a WRIA but whose boundaries can be topographically described. (e) Groundwater management areas and subareas as defined in chapter 173-100 WAC.173-100 (f) Designated sole source aquifers. (g) Combinations of the above areas.

5. WSAC = Water Supply Availability Committee (Technical) EWEC = Executive Water Emergency Committee (Policy)

6. Hardship Evaluation Groundwater users should be buffered from impacts Agriculture Costs of water supply can increase (well drilling, leasing and purchasing of other water rights) Reduced water delivery, due to pro-ratable or junior water right status Some plants can’t forego season of no irrigation (e.g., fruit trees) Water purveyors Municipalities concerned about drought message, reduced revenues Effects on smaller purveyors harder to predict Landscaping Landscape industry saw reduced sales in past due to drought perception Fisheries: Habitat and hatcheries Recreation Hydropower

7. 7 All time record low snowpack in Olympics and Cascades in 2015

8. Snow-water Equivalent – 2014 vs 2015 – same date 8

9. Chehalis River

10. Newaukum River

11. Wynoochee River 11

12. Dungeness River Flow Data @ USGS Gage (2009 – 2015) 12

13. 13

14. Hoh River Daily fluctuation is due to the daytime higher melting of the Blue Glacier

15. Queets River

16. Quinault River

17. Soleduck River Flow levels in June quickly approaching the annual low flow levels of September - October

18. Summary Drought of 2015 18 This started as a “Snowpack Deficiency” drought What normally would have fallen as snow this past winter fell as rain and has already flowed downstream. However, while rainfall in “most” of Washington was normal over the Winter and early Spring… since early May and through June, rainfall has been below normal and we are now seeing this impact in streamflows – we are having August – September streamflow conditions NOW and summer has just begun. Groundwater supplies are expected to be fine in areas with regional aquifer systems … with the exception of shallow wells near streams with record low flows. Main economic impacts from this drought are crops reliant on surface water irrigation and fish passage in streams with expected RECORD low flows.