The Washington Department of Ecology orders a water use halt in the Yakima Basin due to severe drought.
YAKIMA, Wash. — For the first time in state history, the Washington Department of Ecology is ordering a halt to surface water use in the Yakima Basin, citing critically low reservoir storage and streamflows after three straight years of drought.
Starting Oct. 6 and lasting through the end of the month, more than 1,500 water rights holders will be barred from diverting water. The restrictions may also extend to residential use, forcing some communities to limit lawn and garden watering.
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