Whatcom county water issues

Although we get lots of rain and snow most winters, Whatcom County faces serious water shortages in the summer. Because of climate change, we get less snow in the winter, it melts earlier in the year, and glaciers are shrinking, all of which reduces summer streamflows. Climate change also makes summers hotter and drier, which increases the need to irrigate our lawns commercial landscapes, golf courses, and, especially, farms. Sadly, our political leaders – Dept. of Ecology, Whatcom County, and the Watershed Management Board – are doing almost nothing to reduce this large and growing gap between declining summer water supplies and growing demand.