Brewster community meeting to address local drought preparedness

BREWSTER — The Okanogan Conservation District will hold a community meeting Aug. 27 at Brewster High School from 6 to 8 p.m. to gather public input on drought impacts and strategies to strengthen local water resilience.

The meeting is part of the Local Drought Preparedness Project, a countywide planning effort running through August. The project seeks to identify current and future water needs, assess drought risks, and develop projects to help communities withstand increasingly dry conditions.

Okanogan County is in its third consecutive year of a declared drought emergency. Even in years without a formal declaration, the county has experienced shorter, drier winters with reduced snowpack and hotter summers. Climate projections indicate the region could face snow drought conditions nearly 40% of the time between now and 2050.

“This project will be successful if all Okanogan County communities provide input and feedback,” the Okanogan Conservation District stated. “Community members are encouraged to share the drought impacts they are currently experiencing, concerns they have if drought conditions persist or worsen in the future, and brainstorm project ideas that will mitigate those risks and impacts”.

Participants at the Brewster meeting will be able to share local observations, map areas at risk of drought emergency, and discuss project concepts. A drought feedback survey will also be released later this summer.

For more information, visit www.okanogancd.org/drought-preparedness-plan or contact jordana@okanogancd.org, 509-429-3468.