It’s a good time to change bad water habits

Before you go take a shower or water the garden, consider some numbers. If it weren’t so hot, I’d say they are chilling.

Since Washington’s wildfire season started June 1, there have been 747 fires statewide, with almost 74,000 acres ravaged. By mid-July last year, before the Carlton Complex Fire, about half that — 35,000 acres — had burned.

By the end of this summer, every one of Washington’s 39 counties is expected to qualify for federal disaster relief due to drought.

“We have never experienced a drought like this,” said Maia Bellon, director of the state Department of Ecology, during a conference call Friday. She was joined by experts from several agencies who detailed dire effects of water shortages on agriculture, fishing, forests and recreation. “The effects are far greater than anyone anticipated,” Bellon said.

Also answering questions were Joe Stohr, deputy director of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife; Jaclyn Hancock, hydrogeologist with the state’s Agriculture Department; Mary Verner, deputy surpervisor for the state’s Department of Natural Resources; Ginny Stern, hydrogeologist for the state Department of Health; John Clemens, with the U.S. Geological Survey; and Nick Bond, of the Office of Washington State Climatologist.

Drought on the Olympic Peninsula, a place renowned for its rain forest, is unprecedented. May and June were the peninsula’s driest since 1895 — “less rain than Phoenix, Arizona,” Bellon said. “The Paradise Fire is the largest in the history of Olympic National Park.”

Farmers are hurting. Across the state, Hancock said, heat and lack of moisture have damaged berry and cranberry crops, stressed livestock, sunburned grapes, lowered yields for winter and spring wheat, and forced the shutdown of some irrigation.

Stohr said trout are being moved to places with cooler water, boat launches are being extended because of low lake levels, and on the Columbia and Snake rivers more than 80 huge sturgeon have been found dead or dying.

On May 15, Gov. Jay Inslee declared a statewide drought emergency. The Ecology Department is accepting grant applications for $16 million in drought relief, money appropriated by the Legislature for public projects over the next two years to lessen drought-related hardships.

What about here? What if you live in Everett or Edmonds?

In March, The Herald reported that the water level in Spada Lake Reservoir, which provides 80 percent of Snohomish County’s drinking water, was 106 percent of what it was at that time last year. Even without any snow pack, a wet winter seemed to mean enough water for summer. And now?

“We’re keeping a close eye on our reservoir levels,” said Marla Carter, information manger for the Everett Public Works Department. Because of June’s heat, local water use “was much higher than typical,” she said Friday. Now, she said, “the supply is 70 percent of normal for this time of year.”

Together, the system’s Spada and Lake Chaplain reservoirs have about a seven-month supply of water. “If we have a typical fall season, there’s nothing to worry about,” Carter said.

Everett utility bills come with suggested lawn-watering calendars. Customers should only be watering every few days.

If the local water supply falls to a critical level, there’s a four-stage drought plan. Carter said it would start with an advisory asking for water usage limits, then work up to a stage-four emergency mandating a ban on all non-essential uses. “We have never had it kick in,” Carter said.

Already, we see lots of brown lawn. In California last week, that state’s water commission unanimously approved new rules that would effectively limit the amount of turf grass around new homes to 25 percent of the landscaped area.

We’re not there yet, but Carter said it’s smart to break bad habits and cultivate good ones. Don’t wash sidewalks and driveways. Change some landscaping to drought-tolerant plants. And inside, wait until the load is full to run a dishwasher. Take shorter showers. Fix leaks.

“We have a watchword,” said Stern, of the Department of Health. “What are you going to do if we have three more months of August?”

The meager snow pack and summer’s hot start delivered “a one-two punch,” said Bond, the state climatologist. After this toasty weekend, he sees slightly cooler temperatures coming. But then come August and September, which he expects will be “warmer than normal and likely on the dry side.” And he’s leaning toward a winter that is warmer and drier than usual. “The bottom line, we should be prepared for reduced snow pack at the end of next winter,” Bond said.

This sizzling summer is all the reminder we need that water is precious, and it’s wrong to waste it.

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

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