Naches-Selah Irrigation District, Selah-Moxee Irrigation District, Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District, and Yakima Tieton Irrigation District have submitted a joint request to the Washington Department of Ecology requesting that surface water rights be administered by priority to protect senior water rights through the full irrigation season, including October, consistent with historical practices.

Last season’s early curtailment of senior rights prompted significant concern among district board of directors and water users. Together, the four districts serve water to a combined 142,144 irrigated acres in the Yakima Basin and rely on earlier priority dates for water rights to supply their water users. The request comes during the basin’s fourth year of continued drought and emphasizes the importance of administering water rights consistent with prior appropriation (first in time, first in right) and the Yakima Basin adjudication, while recognizing the extraordinary hydrologic conditions facing all water users, including agricultural producers, fish, and communities.

The districts hold water rights senior to the May 10, 1905, priority date of the Yakima Project held by the United States. All four districts also have contracts with the Bureau of Reclamation making a portion of their supply subject to prorationing in times of drought.

The districts acknowledge that continued drought conditions have placed pressure on water supplies throughout the basin not seen in over 30 years, impacting instream flows, irrigated agriculture, municipal uses, and the broader regional economy. These challenges underscore the need for clear, consistent, and lawful water right administration to allow all basin partners to plan and respond effectively.

Under Washington law, water rights are administered based on priority date, a framework affirmed through the Yakima Basin adjudication case, consent decrees, and legally binding settlement agreements. The May 9, 2019, Final Decree, Final Schedule of Rights has each water right certificate showing period of use and priority date with other specifications of each adjudicated right. The districts require administration of their water right by priority date and for the full period of use, consistent with Washington law and the Final Decree.

Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is collecting information from irrigators in the Yakima Basin to refine their economic drought assessment for the 2024 and 2025 drought events. Alongside their partners at University of California Merced, they developed an anonymous survey to help refine their modeling estimates to best reflect real life scenarios. Please take a moment to complete this survey. It will take approximately 10 – 15 minutes to complete. It includes questions about crops grown, the yield and quality impacts of drought in 2024 and 2025, and related decision making. The results from this project will help them communicate the magnitude of economic impacts to educate our decision makers and advocate for investing in drought resilience projects in the Yakima Basin.

After three consecutive drought years, planning ahead matters more than ever. This spring newsletter highlights water outlooks, fallowing opportunities, and system investments designed to support SVID growers.

Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District will open the head gate on the Sunnyside Division Dam on Wednesday March 18, 2026, to begin canal priming. Due to the time, it takes for the water delivery system to fill, many water users closer to the main canals may have access earlier depending upon their location along the canal system. Priming the entire system will take priority over water deliveries. This means the water surface elevation in the Sunnyside Canal may not be high enough to make deliveries until the system is primed. The canal priming will continue throughout the next two weeks. SVID anticipates that irrigation water will be available to all water users by request by April 1, 2026. Tentative Priming Schedule: Head Gate Wednesday March 18, 2026 Lower Division Friday March 20, 2026 Snipes Lateral, Mabton Monday March 23, 2026 30.20, 23.10, 39.79 and 48.04 Tuesday March 24, 2026 Prosser, 49.71 and others as needed Wednesday March 25, 2026 All dates are subject to change due to weather and unanticipated circumstances.

The Sunnyside Valley Irrigation District is working to secure additional funding for the 2026 water transfer program. As a result, enrollment has reopened to allow participation for additional fallowed acres. Applications submitted during this second enrollment round will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis at 1105 Yakima Valley Highway. Department of Ecology approval is expected between mid-May and early June. Participants will be paid $350 per acre-foot of water enrolled in the program. Growers interested in participating should contact the SVID office to confirm eligibility requirements. Call (509) 837-6980 for more information.