| Water From the Sky Brings Water to Farms 9/23/04 Yakima, WA - Two boffo months of precipitation in August and September have brought an end to the rationing of irrigation water in the Yakima Irrigation Project. The change has little effect because irrigators are now within one month of ending their watering seasons. The Yakima-Tieton Irrigation District announced this week the 27,000-acre district will cease delivering water on Oct. 4. But there are concerns being raised already about next year with a mild El Nino expected to affect West Coast weather, according to the Climate Prediction Center, an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The phenomenon, in which warm tropical water migrates west toward the coast of South America, usually results in a drier winter and spring in the Pacific Northwest. An end to rationing will mean that one rationed district, the Kittitas Reclamation District, will be able to deliver water for a full season. District Manager Jack Carpenter said Wednesday the 59,000-acre district will operate through Oct. 15. The district had recently projected deliveries through Oct. 10, he said. Chris Lynch, water engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation, said the agency ended rationing on Monday. The action is the result of a wet August during which precipitation was 268 percent of average. To date in September, precipitation is 162 percent of average. Precipitation for the water year, which began last October, is now almost 97 percent of average. Rationing has been in effect since June because winter and spring rain and snow lagged below normal. Rationing is imposed when there isn't enough water to provide a full supply to all users. Holders of senior water rights receive a full supply. Junior users, those holding rights obtained in 1905, are reduced.
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