Washington State Governor Declares Drought

The "Evergreen State" has wilted under a drought that has halved the area's normal rainfall, threatening its crucial fruit orchards and salmon streams, and leaving some cities and towns high and dry.

The aridity is expected to hit Washington's giant farming sector especially hard. The Yakima Valley in eastern Washington is the nation's top apple-growing region, and is home to millions of acres of other water-guzzling fruit crops like pears and cherries.

"The agricultural industry has been struggling for years. They now face soaring energy costs, and we have to protect their need for water this fall," Locke told a news conference on the edge of Alder Lake, about 60 miles south of Seattle.

"If we lose fruit trees this year, we lose them forever," Locke said.

Locke's chosen venue of Alder Lake, with hundreds of normally submerged tree stumps sticking out of the mud, was a vivid example of how the water crisis is taking its toll on a state that prides itself on its environmental richness.

The drought declaration authorizes Washington's Department of Ecology to use $5.1 million in state funds to buy water from areas that have it and send it to those that don't.

GOVERNOR APPEALS FOR WATER CONSERVATION. The money will buy or lease water rights to keep rivers and streams flowing, stop farm irrigation systems from running dry, and to pump water to those of the state's 6 million residents who are in danger of having their taps dry up.

The declaration will let farms and cities with more than enough water to quickly transfer it to needy areas, without the usual red tape of public hearings. It also authorizes the issue of emergency water permits to farmers or businesses that can't get enough water, letting the draw from sources they normally can't touch. But ecology officials said few permits would be issued because there is simply no extra water.

Locke appealed to residents and businesses to voluntarily cut back on water use, but he has no power to restrict individual water use. In past water crises, local officials have ordered limits on lawn watering and car washing.

"These actions and this money will not take away all the pain or restore our normal water supply - the problem is too severe for that," Locke said in a later statement. "This is already the worst drought in our state since 1977 and it's only March. We'll probably beat that record soon."

The water shortfall is a double whammy to the state, which is also grappling with a power crunch that has sent electricity rates skyrocketing.

Snow pack that is crucial to keeping the state's hydroelectric turbines spinning during the spring and summer is only half to 60 percent of normal.

With more than 30 rivers marking record low flows on Tuesday, experts now predict that the flow into the Columbia River - the state's largest and most important waterway - will be less than half of normal through September, data from the governor's office showed.

Last week, Locke announced plans to speed up approval for electricity suppliers building several new natural gas power plants in exchange for promises to hold down emissions.