By Sharah Truett
Many farmers in our state struggled with drought last year. Even though we had decent snowpack in the winter, early melt-off led to water shortages across the county. By April of 2025, the snow-water equivalent in the Dungeness-Elwha watershed was only at 55% of normal (NWCC 2024)
Additionally, June of 2025 was very dry, with only 18% of normal precipitation recorded at the Elwha Ranger Station (NPS).
This caused the Department of Ecology to issue a drought emergency for 19 watersheds across the state, including the Sequim-Dungeness River watershed. If you are a farmer and you need information about how to deal with drought, call us at the WSU Extension Office of Clallam County at (360) 417-2279 or check out our website by clicking this link to WSU Clallam Extension’s Water Conservation page.