Growers Getting Help From Ecology In Drought

You can learn more about emergency water permits Thursday at a workshop.

Yakima Basin farmers who hold junior water rights and are looking to tap into groundwater this irrigation season can attend a workshop at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at the Washington Department of Ecology's Central Regional Office, 15 W. Yakima Ave., in Yakima.

At the workshop, farmers can learn whether they qualify for a temporary emergency groundwater permit. The permit would help farmers supplement their well water supply under a cost-share drought response program.

Most affected junior water users are within the Kittitas Reclamation District, and the Roza and Kennewick Irrigation Districts.