Lately, Jim Willard’s been rising every day around 2:30 a.m. to harvest his high-end chenin blanc wine grapes in the cool of early mornings.
Willard runs a fruit operation just outside of Prosser, Washington, in the Yakima Valley. He said the worry over water shortages, and the hurt it could have on his vineyards and orchards, is crushing.
This is the third straight year of drought in the Yakima Basin. It has farmers, like Willard, worried about the coming winter.
Now, the Washington state Department of Ecology has issued an “unprecedented halt” to surface water use starting today through the end of October.
“I’ll tell you about it next spring, it depends on how the plants look after this winter,” Willard said. “Not having good soil moisture going into winter can be detrimental to the crops.”
These state curtailments mean irrigators are unable to deeply water their crops before winter. Moist soil keeps roots safer in low temperatures. But dry soil can allow for icy temperatures to penetrate deeper into the ground.
“When the irrigation season ends early, the complication that can occur is that the irrigators can’t water in October,” said Scott Revell, who leads the Roza Irrigation District in the Yakima Valley. “When they water in October, that can improve winter hardiness. Water in the soil keeps the crops warmer.”
Ecology said the water use orders are necessary because water available from the Yakima Basin reservoirs is expected to run out after today. And without that stored water, rain and flows from the Yakima River will not be enough for senior irrigation water rights.
When water supplies are low, Washington’s water laws require that the most senior water right holders receive their full amount before junior water right holders can access what’s left.
In the current drought, water supplies are so low that only the most senior water right holders in the basin will get what water is left over.
Revell said some crops are being harvested well into November. Wine grapes and late variety apples – like Pink Ladies – are some of the usually high-value crops harvested later in the season, he said.
“If they went in drier than they were supposed to be, the whole tree could split or die,” Revell said. “That will impact production in the next year.”
Ria Berns, Ecology’s Water Resources program manager, said that the basin hasn’t experienced a drought like this in over 30 years.
“We know that restricting water diversions will impact communities across the Yakima Basin, but this is a necessary step to protect water for fish and senior water rights in the face of continued drought conditions,” she said in a press release.
Revell said dividing up the water between municipalities, tribes, irrigators, wildlife and fish has been challenging for the past three years.
“For years, the Yakima Basin has been a national model for collaboration and water management,” said Casey Sixkiller, the director of the Washington state Department of Ecology, in a press release. “That partnership has led to more than $1 billion in investments. But the conditions we see today show that there is much more work still ahead of us to improve water security for the region.”
Just north of Prosser, Willard keeps up his relentless harvest hours.
He’s already taken out about 5 acres of grapes. Another 15 acres of pasture have gone unwatered this year. But it’s still not enough.
Willard has been preparing for the shut off, and he ran his water as late as he was allowed. His last irrigation day was on Sept. 24.
But now, it’s all gone.
“It’s frustrating because you have a lot of time, energy and money tied up in your crops,” Willard said. “It’s a mental challenge. This year isn’t the first time we’ve been through it. You hope for the best this fall.”
