While this year’s snowpack in the mountains was bad, there is a reality that local irrigation districts have dealt with low water supplies in years past.  Steve Pappas of East Fork Irrigation District points out that in 2021 and 2023, most of the snowpack had melted due to a heat dome, and that has not happened at this point of this year.  Pappas says they aren’t asking for restrictions in the East Fork District at this point, and they have done a lot of piping in the lower basin in recent years that has significantly reduced spillage rates.  Cindy Thieman of the Hood River Watershed Group notes that each irrigation district will have a different water source, so what they have to do will vary.  Pappas noted East Fork has more piping projects planned in the coming years.