Gov. Christine Gregoire declared a drought for all of Washington Thursday, which means Snohomish County’s rural residents on well systems, farmers and fish are likely to be in for a rough summer.

Precipitation levels are down throughout the state, but the real problem is that warm winter temperatures have melted the mountain snow that usually keeps streams and rivers flowing high in the spring, said Curt Hart, a spokesman for the state Department of Ecology.

“This has the potential to be among the worst drought years on record,” Hart said. “Our winter weather literally went south to California and Arizona. What we could use now is rain.”

The words “conserving water” may not roll off the tongue in Western Washington, but that could change if a late March miracle doesn’t happen.

“Throughout this spring and summer, citizens need to pay close attention to what their local water providers are saying about water supplies in their area and follow the instructions they are given,” Gregoire said.

“While water shortages won’t affect all areas of the state in precisely the same way, it seems very likely that all areas of our state will experience at least some level of drought this year.”

The long-range forecast for Western Washington is for below-normal rainfall this spring, and average rainfall in the summer.

That’s not good news for farmers such as Mike Bartel of the Monroe area.

“If it stays like this, it could be devastating for us because we have no source of irrigation,” said Bartel, who along with his wife runs a small organic farm just outside of Monroe. “We’re totally dependent on rainfall and heavy morning dew.”

Usually, the fields are too muddy to even walk in at this time of year, much less plant, Bartel said. Not this year. The peas are already sprouting, and the fields are being prepared for more planting.

“We have no choice but to plant our crops and hope for the best,” he said.

Farmers should consider planting low-water and early season crops, said Scott Pattee, a water supply specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“Farmers are kind of funny. They look at this like, ‘Oh, we’re having great weather. I’m going to go out and plant early,’” Pattee said. “Somewhere in there, they might be forgetting to plan for the dry conditions.”

Shallow wells could go dry all across Snohomish County, warned Suzanne Pate of the Snohomish Health District.

“There’s still plenty of water in people’s wells,” she said, but if the drought persists, “we might have a problem in the rural areas.”

Homes connected to small water districts also could face water rationing because they, too, often depend on shallow groundwater reserves, said John Clemens, a spokesman for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Washington Water Science Center.

Most Snohomish County residents won’t be affected by the drought because they get their water from Spada Lake, which is full enough to meet the county’s demands even if the drought doesn’t ease up, said Tom Thetford, utilities director for the city of Everett. The reservoir is managed by the city of Everett and Snohomish County PUD.

If need be, the health district is prepared to help families haul water to their homes if their wells dry up. The state Department of Ecology also will streamline any permits needed to dig deeper wells, department spokesman Larry Altose said.

Fish biologists worry that low water levels will strand fish that are returning to spawn, making it difficult for them to clear obstacles in streams and making them easy prey.

Low river levels also mean that water temperatures will rise, potentially lowering oxygen to an unsafe level for fish and making it easier for them to catch diseases, said Doug Williams, a spokesman for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Rivers across the state are already well below normal, Clemens said.

“Streamflows are supposed to be rising right now” as snow in the mountains begins to melt, he said. “Right now, we’re seeing declining streamflows. Think of it as a bank account; nature has basically spent all of its money already.”

Already showing signs of that lack of snow, the Snohomish River at Monroe was flowing at about 4,200 cubic feet per second on Thursday. Normal flow for this time of year is about 9,800 cubic feet per second, according to the USGS.

The Stillaguamish River was worse. It normally flows at nearly 2,200 cubic feet per second in early March at Arlington. On Thursday, it was at about 920 cubic feet per second.

This drought could easily outpace the 2001 drought, because that year’s snowpack was 60 percent of normal, Hart said.

“We’re at 26 percent of normal,” he said.

Reporter Lukas Velush: 425-339-3449 or lvelush@heraldnet.com.