West Plains gears for hot summer

Cities throughout Washington state, including the West Plains, are gearing up for another hot summer.

In May, Gov. Jay Inslee declared an drought emergency for the state. According to the Washington state Department of Ecology, the declaration comes after Inslee’s Emergency Water Executive Committee determined that 48 of 62 watersheds in Washington have water supplies of 75 percent of normal or below and water users are, or are expected to experience hardships from water shortages.

With the drought emergency in place, cities in the West Plains have already enacted water conservation measures....