Climate Change and Water

Recent climate change reports from the Climate Impacts Group and NOAA predict that Washington will experience climatic changes that will have a direct impact on our state's water resources. Because our rivers and streams depend on snowmelt to recharge flows through the spring and summer, changes in the amount of precipitation that falls as snow in the mountains during the winter, and the timing of peak runoff could impair flows more than we previously expected. Read the Water for Washington briefing paper (released June 15, 2009) on climate change and how water management policy reforms can prepare Washington for the future.

It flows from the tap to quench our thirst.
It makes our crops grow.
It nourishes fish and wildlife.
It is clean water, the lifeblood of Washington State, and we can't live without it.

Clean, flowing rivers and streams have become synonymous with our special corner of the country -- our Northwest way of life.

But today, more and more rivers are over-tapped. Some are literally sucked dry.

If we don't improve the way we manage Washington's water, we will face serious consequences. Two major forces, global warming and population growth, are adding unprecedented urgency to the need for better water management.

Before the well runs dry: water solutions for Washington is a report that outlines Washington's broken water policies and proposes commonsense solutions for a sustainable water future.

View the report in an interactive online format, or download a PDF.