Morrow County declared drought emergency by state

By Terry Murry on Tuesday, November 7th, 2023 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories

News release from the office of Gov. Tina Kotek:

SALEM – Governor Tina Kotek has declared a drought in Morrow County through Executive Order 23-25 and directed state agencies to coordinate and prioritize assistance to the region.

Over 90% of Morrow County is currently in a D1 drought (moderate drought), while the rest of the county is either in D0 (abnormally dry) or D2 (severe drought) conditions. Oregon State University Extension Service in Morrow County provided a letter of support for the drought declaration request highlighting impacts to this year’s wheat crop. Wheat production in Morrow County was heavily impacted by both an unusually dry fall and low rainfall in the spring. Additionally, the average quality of crop-year precipitation in Morrow County ranges from 8 to 12 inches depending on location. The overall average for this previous crop-year was only 6.6 inches.

Drought is likely to have a significant economic impact on the farm, ranch, recreation, tourism and natural resources sectors, as well as an impact on drinking water, fish and wildlife, and important minimum flows for public instream uses and other natural resources dependent on adequate precipitation, stored water, and streamflow in these areas.

Extreme conditions are expected to affect local growers and livestock, shorten the growing season, and decrease water supplies.