Yakima River Basin irrigators with junior rights will receive full water allotments between now and the end of September, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation predicted May 4.

The south-central Washington irrigators were facing slight cutbacks a month ago. An unusual amount of spring rain and snow erased the deficit, bureau river operations engineer Chris Lynch said.

“Precipitation came on like gangbusters in April,” he said.

The bureau manages five reservoirs that hold water to irrigate some 464,000 acres. Senior water-right holders receive full allotments, while junior water-right holders are cut back in water-short years.

In early April, the bureau predicted junior water-right holders would get 94% of their normal supplies.

Rain at the reservoirs was heavy in April — 161% of normal. The reservoirs are holding more water than usual for this time of year and are expected to fill up.

The snowpacks that melt into the reservoirs were below normal on April 1, but are above average now.

“Late snow should help with irrigation later on,” bureau hydrologist Mik Lewicki said.

More than 2 million acre-feet will be available for irrigation, according to the bureau. Junior water-right holders will receive 1.145 million acre-feet.