![\"Oregon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/47WQ6KNKOVCMVJJM5KRCBGB3I4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Oregon irrigation districts may have to cut allocations as drought conditions worsen heading into summer.<\/p>\n
Tracy Robillard \/ Oregon NRCS<\/p>\n
And the total number of Oregon counties with a drought declaration has risen to nine after the governor\u2019s office approved requests<\/a> from Crook, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson, Morrow, and Wallowa counties on April 23, 2026.<\/p>\n Three more counties have requested drought declarations<\/a>.<\/p>\n The executive order cites National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data showing that Oregon had its warmest winter since 1934.<\/p>\n \u201cThe smoking gun, if you will, for current drought and water supply conditions is the above normal temperatures we\u2019ve been seeing,\u201d said Oregon Water Resources Department Hydrologist Cameron Greenwood. \u201cWe\u2019ve been seeing record-setting year after record-setting year not only from a local level in Oregon but globally, and it\u2019s pretty concerning for not only this summer\u2019s water supply conditions but looking forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Greenwood said snowpack levels haven\u2019t been this low heading into summer since 2015.<\/p>\n \u201cWhich led to some of the worst drought we\u2019ve seen in Oregon, with 25 of 36 counties receiving drought declarations by the end of that year. So if that\u2019s any indication of how conditions can develop for us, we\u2019re in for a pretty tough summer with respect to water supply conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Greenwood said conditions could mean earlier regulation for water users, smaller allotments in irrigation districts and possible long-term consequences for groundwater users.<\/p>\n It is also possible that ephemeral waterways that rely on snowmelt for their flows through the summer could dry up or see significant drops in their flow rates.<\/p>\n Zac Ziegler is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom. This story<\/a> comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.<\/p>\n