Water supply forecast gloomier

The water supply forecast for the Yakima River basin got worse in March.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced Monday that holders of junior water rights will likely get just 60 percent of their normal water.

That’s significantly worse than the March estimate of 73 percent of normal.

The shortfall is caused by the warm, wet winter that left little snow in the Cascade Range.

Last month, Gov. Jay Inslee declared a drought emergency for central Washington because of a snowpack that is less than 20 percent of normal for this time of year.