The Dungeness River continues to set record low flows, according to monitoring data from the U.S. Geological Survey, which eventually affect irrigation in the Dungeness Valley area.
Thursday’s river flow registered at 96 cubic feet per second.
The median streamflow for this time of year over the last 75 years of recorded data is about 200 cubic feet per second.
The low water levels raise concerns for Dungeness Valley farmers who rely on water from the river to irrigate their fields.
It could also have an effect on fish populations, although state officials are still only monitoring the situation.
The Dungeness River Agricultural Water Users Association issued a call for conservation recently, urging all non-agricultural users of irrigation water to cut back so that farmers could water crops.
Compliance is voluntary, but people have responded, said Ben Smith, a director of the Highland Irrigation District.
“It’s hard to tell how much, but we have had good cooperation with the public,” he said.
“From what we see, people are cutting back.
“We do have cooperation. We continually need more as we get closer to these critical levels.”
Critical level is 60
The critical level in this case is 60 cubic feet per second.
In a deal between the irrigation districts, the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe and the state Department of Ecology, irrigators have promised to leave at least that much water in the Dungeness for fish and wildlife.
As water levels decline, there is less water available for activities like watering fields and lawns.
Smith said the irrigation districts are already cutting back on the amount of water they withdraw from the river.
“If the river ever does hit 60, we’ll be completely shut off,” Smith said.
Irrigation water is non-potable.
Drinking water from wells
The city of Sequim gets most of its water from deep wells, and city officials said the dry conditions don’t have much of an effect on their potable water supplies.
Water levels in Sequim’s wells have been static for months, said Public Works Director Jim Bay, and the city does not currently have water concerns.
That doesn’t mean Sequim is immune, however.