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U.S. Drought Moniter
OREGON
Ben Lonergan/East Oregonian FIle
Irrigation equipment sits silhouetted against the setting sun near Holdman on Wednesday,
Nov. 18, 2020.
Drought:
Continued from Page 3
and Eugene. South of the line will be dealing
with drought conditions this summer. North of
the line got some much needed precipitation
that helped build the snow pack.
That bodes well for the Umatilla, Walla
Walla and Willow subbasins, the main areas
where Umatilla County farmers draw their
water to grow crops like wheat, potatoes,
onions and watermelons.
Oviatt said the snowpacks in Umatilla
County are above average this year, aided
by the late season snow storm in Febru-
ary. But irrigators and other observers must
remain vigilant because a warm rain event
or an extended period of unseasonably warm
weather could change the outlook.
Eastern Oregon’s increasingly erratic
weather patterns and the region’s finite sup-
ply of groundwater inspired the formation
of the Northeast Oregon Water Association
and its mission to help irrigators access water
from the Columbia River.
J.R. Cook, NOWA’s executive director,
said 2021 will be the first full-year the orga-
nization has had two of its irrigation projects
in operation. As a result, Cook said the farm-
ers that participate in the projects will have
access to a new source of water that is equiv-
alent to the amount of water stored in the
McKay Reservoir.
Despite the advances NOWA has made,
Cook said there’s still more work to do to
keep agriculture sustainable in the region.
“It’s a shot in the arm but it’s not a silver
bullet,” he said.
Among the projects NOWA is still work-
ing on is building new water storage that will
collect water during the high-running years
to insulate farmers from the lean ones.
Abundant February precipitation
improved water outlook in
John Day Basin
Grant County streamflow forecasts
improved significantly from February to
March but declined somewhat by April 1 due
to the dry March, according to the U.S. Nat-
ural Resources Conservation Service’s Water
Supply Outlook Report released April 1.
Strawberry Creek near Prairie City is
expected to be at 85% of average streamflow
from April through September. The Middle
Fork John Day River at Ritter and the North
Fork John Day River at Monument are fore-
cast at 98% of average.
Also in the basin, Camas Creek near
Ukiah is expected to be at 138%, while
Mountain Creek near Mitchell is expected to
be at 65%.
Precipitation was 178% of average in the
John Day Basin in February but just 44% of
average in March, bringing precipitation for
the water year, which starts Oct. 1, to 90% of
average as of April 1.
Except for November, with close to 120%
of average, precipitation during the other
months this water year have been well below
average with October and December below
60% and January just over 80%.
Snowpack in the John Day Basin was
121% of normal April 1, a small drop from
127% at the start of March but remaining
above the 92% at the start of February.
RELEASED THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 2021
DROUGHT CONDITIONS
PERCENT AREA
None
D0–D4
D1–D4
D2–D4
D3–D4
D4
CURRENT
21.14
78.86
66.01
41.25
12.55
0.00
LAST WEEK
21.09
78.91
66.01
41.25
12.55
0.00
3 MONTHS AGO
8.57
91.43
83.53
68.71
27.74
0.00
START OF
CALENDAR YEAR
8.57
91.43
83.53
68.71
27.74
0.00
6.50
93.50
84.77
65.53
33.59
0.00
15.43
84.57
56.84
13.23
0.00
0.00
12/29/2020
Start of Water Year
9/29/2020
One Year Ago
3/31/2020
INTENSITY
None
D2 Severe Drought
D0 Abnormally Dry
D3 Extreme Drought
D1 Moderate Drought
D4 Exceptional Drought
The Drought Moniter focuses on broad-scale conditions. Local conditions may vary. For more information on the Drought Monitor, go to
https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/about.aspx.
Author: Brad Pugh, CPC/NOA