YAKIMA, Wash. – The Bureau of Reclamation’s July 2026 total water supply available forecast for the Yakima basin indicates the water supply will not fully meet irrigation demands this season. The estimate of the total water supply available for the June–September period indicates senior water rights will receive 100% full entitlements and junior water rights will receive 56% of their full entitlements.
Storage in the Yakima basin reservoirs on July 1 was 80% full with 857,816 acre-feet, which is 90% of average. Precipitation for June was 77% of average and for October–June was 114% of average.
Reclamation manages the water in the five Yakima Project storage reservoirs, along with the basin’s unregulated inflows, to fulfill water rights, water contracts and instream flow obligations. Water shortages in the basin are shared equally by the junior water rights, which represent over half of the water rights in the basin.
Reclamation will provide an updated water supply forecast monthly using the latest data each month to reflect changing conditions as they develop for Water Year 2026.
The July forecast is based on flows, precipitation, snowpack, and reservoir storage as of July 1, along with estimates of future precipitation and river flows. Other future weather conditions that determine the timing of the runoff and the demand for water also are critical in determining stream flows, the extent to which the reservoirs fill, and the water supply for irrigation.
For more information, visit Reclamation’s website at https://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/yakima/.
