Gov. Inslee declares statewide drought emergency Wednesday
Gov. Jay Inslee laid blame on climate change as he declared a drought emergency for nearly the whole state on Wednesday.
“This is not political hyperbole,” Inslee said. “It is a scientific consensus that is jarring the life of every Washingtonian some way.”
Only the Tacoma, Seattle and Everett metro areas are exempt from the emergency, Inslee said. Such an emergency means the water supply is projected to be 75% below average and water users may be at risk of undue hardship, according to a press release.
This move comes a week after Inslee declared a state of emergency related to the growing risk of wildfires and two weeks after a record heat wave believed to have caused 91 deaths.
The emergency status allows the state Department of Ecology to provide several forms of emergency relief, said department director Laura Watson.
She said such relief can take the form of expedited processing for emergency drought permits, temporary transfers of water rights, funding assistance for public entities, and public education workshops.
Nearly two months ago the Department of Ecology issued a drought advisory for most of the state except regions along the Puget Sound. At the time, the department noted that March through April had been the driest period in Washington since 1895, according to a May news release.
That drought advisory did not affect Thurston or Pierce counties, but the new emergency proclamation affects all of Thurston County and nearly all of Pierce County.
During the briefing, Inslee and guests said climate change is exacerbating weather conditions.
“We have to recognize this in some sense, this is the summer of climate change,” Inslee said. “We are hopeful this is the summer when we rally as the United States against this horrendous threat.”
Hilary Franz, the state’s Commissioner of Public Lands who heads the state Department of Natural Resources, said she is not seeing enough moisture on the horizon.
“I said earlier this year that these conditions could create a particularly bad fire season,” Franz said. “Frankly, as I face my fifth fire season, I think this is likely to be the worst of the last five years.”
Franz urged residents across the state to adhere to burn bans to protect their communities. She said there have already been over 900 fires this year with an estimated 140,000 acres burned.
“This is just shy of the total amount of acres that burned in all of 2019 and we are just in the beginning of July,” Franz said. “It’s not even August yet.”
Only about 6 inches of rain fell in the state this past spring when it normally gets about 11 inches, said Washington state climatologist Nick Bond.
He said summers are trending warmer and drier, indicating climate change is a pressing concern rather than an abstract future concept.
“Comparing recent years to three or four decades ago, there’s something like two thirds the amount of precipitation there was before and temperatures have risen by about 2 degrees, even more so at night and more systematically,” Bond said.
Lauren Jenks, assistant secretary at the state Department of Health, called climate change a global health problem that has caused loss of life.
“What we need to remember now, in the areas of the state that are still hotter than usual, is that we are not acclimated to this,” Jenks said. “This is unprecedented heat, so we cannot tough it out. We need to pay attention to our bodies and when we are feeling weaker or thirsty or hot.”
In addition to heat-related concerns, smoke from wildfires also can make it more difficult for people to breath, she said.
Inslee advised residents to save water and check on their neighbors in the warm months ahead but stressed that climate change must be addressed.
“We can do a thousand acts of kindness, but I want to reiterate today, if we don’t attack this problem, we are not going to solve it,” he said.
This story was originally published July 14, 2021 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Gov. Inslee declares statewide drought emergency Wednesday."
