Central Region

Yakima river photo
Our Central Region (CRO) includes Benton, Chelan, Douglas, Kittitas, Klickitat, Okanogan, and Yakima counties.

Topics of interest in the Central Region

Water rights

Waters of the state belong to the public and can't be owned by any individual or group. Instead, a person or group may be granted a right to use a volume of water, for a defined purpose, in a specific place. Learn more about water rights management, including requesting or relinquishing water rights, adjudications, water banks, and metering water usage.

Burn bans

Do you use a wood stove to heat your home? Check to see if there is an air quality burn ban in your area. We also have information about how to use your wood stove more efficiently and the health affects of breathing smoke.

Improving air quality and a landfill in Okanogan County

Ecology's previous round of Prevent Nonattainment grants helped agencies in Okanogan County improve air quality to meet national air quality standards.


Kent Kovalenko has been an avid conservationist for as long as he can remember. Much of that behavior was inspired by his grandma. “She threw nothing out. Any container she would get, she would find a useful purpose for. I have two quilts made from her old dresses because she didn’t believe in throwing clothes away,” he recalls.

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