The following notice is from Clallam Conservation District
On Monday, July 24, 2023, the Governor declared a drought for Clallam County. Record high temperatures during the month of May led to a rapidly depleted snowpack which contributes to extremely low streamflow conditions for returning ESA-listed fish such as Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and bull trout. To make matters worse, in the 60 days between April 25 and June 23, the state only received 47% of normal precipitation. Our water resources are at critical lows. We encourage you to think of ways you can conserve water and have listed a few tips below for reducing water consumption.
Conserve irrigation water to support our local farmers:
Irrigation water infrastructure was originally created to support agricultural activities. Sequim Irrigation water comes directly from the Dungeness River, which has a history of low flows during the summer months. These low flows create hardship for both the farmers and fish. Many of our local farmers depend on irrigation water to make a living by farming the land, which in turn provides us with locally grown food. If you have irrigation water available to you please consider conserving it, and not using it for things such as watering lawns, or mature landscaping and trees. We need to all work together to conserve irrigation water and keep it available for our farmers to keep our local agriculture community viable.
Hold off watering your landscape:
Once established, some plants, especially native species, can get by without any supplemental irrigation water. Many landscape plants do just fine with only a couple of good applications of water during the summer, or they may not even need any water at all. Water deeply to reach the root zones, and infrequently to encourage deep root systems and healthier plants. If you have sandy or gravelly soils be very careful when watering. Water passes through the tree and shrub root zone in sandy or gravelly soils quickly and excess watering may leech valuable nutrients. A clay or silt loam soil, on the other hand, can hold six inches of water in the root zone. So if you have clay or silt loam soil you may be able to go longer before you’ll need to irrigate again. However, clay soils absorb water slowly, so applying at too fast a rate may result in ponding or runoff.
Mulch:
Regardless of your soil type, it’s a good idea to add a thick layer of mulch to all your plants to help retain water and improve water absorption. In addition to conserving soil moisture, mulch inhibits weed growth (a great bonus for any gardener) and adds valuable nutrients as it decomposes.
Let your lawn go brown:
Manicured green lawns are not sustainable, they require constant additions of water and nutrients. With the recent drought declaration please consider letting your lawn go dormant the rest of the summer instead of continually watering it. It will not kill it, lawns are perennial and will green up in the fall.
Water after the sun goes down:
Avoid watering during the heat of the day. This helps to avoid water evaporation and keeps the water for the plants.
As our population grows, the demand for water resources becomes greater. We all need to pull together and use our water resources wisely.
Burn Ban Reminder
A full burn ban became effective July 7. No outdoor burning is allowed until October, including camp fires and BBQs with briquettes.