Replanted trees won't produce again for seven to ten years. So what we do now, may mean the very survival of agriculture in Eastern Washington. Some irrigators that draw directly out of the Columbia River have already gotten warnings their water may be turned off this summer. Eastern Washington's legislative delegation claims this would be devastating and must not happen. Republican Senator Jim Honeyford of Sunnyside says water cutoffs could be the last straw for some farmers already reeling from low crop prices.
Water is the lifeblood for the Yakima Valley and for any area that depends on irrigation.
If we don't have the water, our farmers will be out of business. We need to work together as a big family and help each other out. To that end, the state will try to speed water right transfers from people with extra to those in need. In rare instances, the state may allow farms to drill emergency wells. And lawmakers want to tap a drought fund to buy back water from irrigators who'll agree to skip planting this year.