Managing water usage, storage for a better future

Ecology’s Office of Columbia River has a mission to “aggressively pursue development of water supplies to benefit both in-stream and out-of-stream uses.”

Since 2006, the program has been building water resiliency in eastern Washington, especially in response to changing climate and drought.

The 2016 Water Supply and Demand Forecast for the Columbia River Basin tells a story of Washington’s water future and is helping water managers to anticipate likely water needs across the Columbia River Basin over the next 20 years (to 2035).

“This is a powerful tool for our state,” said Tom Tebb, director...