Three months after Gov. Jay Inslee declared a drought emergency in Washington state, three of the biggest cities in the Puget Sound region are asking residents to cut their water use by 10%.
For now, the restrictions are voluntary here in this normally damp area on the west coast of the Evergreen State – so named because historic weather patterns usually ensure a bright, leafy green landscape.
Washington's drought is a peculiar one, a so-called snowpack drought rather than a rainfall drought. In fact, on Wednesday, the same day state agencies launched a water conservation blog, Seattle enjoyed a thunderstorm.