Water replenishment in action: protecting salmon in the drought-stricken Dungeness River

Amazon and Washington Water Trust are working with farmers and the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe to restore critical stream flows through an innovative water leasing program. 

Through a collaborative effort with Washington Water Trust (WWT), local farmers, and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Amazon is supporting an innovative water leasing program that helps farmers voluntarily pause irrigation during critical drought periods, ensuring more water stays in the river when salmon need it most.

“Washington is special to Amazon—it’s where the company was founded,” said Kara Hurst, Amazon’s chief sustainability officer. “One of the things we try to do everywhere we operate is to understand the needs of the community and find ways to work together to create a positive and lasting impact.”

Washington state is often associated with abundant rainfall, but parts of its Olympic Peninsula have experienced drought conditions for six of the past 10 years. The drought has especially affected the Dungeness River, threatening both the Chinook salmon that spawn there and orcas in the Puget Sound that depend on the fish for food.

The program provides financial support to farmers who choose not to irrigate their land for a month, allowing that water to stay instream to maintain river flows during crucial salmon migration periods. The initiative also coordinates strategic “pulse flows”—controlled bursts of water in the river from the irrigation diversions that help fish safely migrate upstream.

Salmon are central to the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s culture and identity. For Hansi Hals, natural resources director for the tribe, the program aligns with the tribe's collaborative approach to environmental stewardship.

“With this funding, we get the river in a healthy condition, and agricultural producers have enough revenue to maintain their farming,” Hals said.

This initiative contributes to Amazon’s commitment to being a good water steward, including its goal to be water positive across its data center operations by 2030—meaning that by 2030, Amazon will return more water to communities than it uses in its data centers. The Dungeness River project is one of over 30 water replenishment projects Amazon has implemented around the world, collectively conserving around 14 billion liters of water once every project is complete.

“When I know that the work that Washington Water Trust, Amazon, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, and the farmers are all doing—coming together to help restore stream flows and keep streams healthy for fish—I just feel that,” said Chris Czarnecki, WWT’s development director, “and I love it.”

To learn more about Amazon's commitment to nature, visit our water stewardship page. Sign up for our newsletter to get Amazon sustainability updates sent directly to your inbox.