SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. – The state Department of Ecology has fined a Skagit County farm for illegally diverting water to their crops.
Skagit Valley Farm was issued a $267,000 fine for irrigating 348 acres of land without having water rights in 2021.
Those crops were located in the lower Skagit and Samish watersheds.
Officials with the Dept of Ecology say that the violations occurred during a drought and just after a historic heat wave.
In those conditions, low stream flows threaten endangered salmon species, which needs streams to flow at certain levels in order to survive.
Irrigating fields without water rights also hurts farmers who comply with water rights laws.
Skagit Valley Farm has 30 days to appeal the fine to the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.