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Thursday’s top of scroll: Water supply – so far, snow good: Wet winter leaves Sierra snowpack above average

Posted by: Maven on March 4, 2010 at 7:44 am

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Californians are experiencing a unique kind of drought – one in which there appears to be plenty of water to squirt around.

Repeated deluges have replenished many reservoirs and blanketed the Sierra with snow, ensuring that there will be at least an average amount of runoff in the spring.

And the state’s third monthly survey of snow in the Sierra showed Wednesday that the water content of the snowpack is 107 percent of average statewide for this time of year. Last year at this time, it was just 80 percent of average.

Despite this bounty, the California Department of Water Resources is reluctant to declare an end to the state’s three-year drought.

“February was a below-average month” for rainfall and snow, explained David Rizzardo, the chief of snow surveys for the Department of Water Resources. “So if you look at that bigger picture, things haven’t improved. The recent storms have definitely slowed the bleeding of the drought, but we still have a good month of precipitation to go here before we can really determine where we stand.” … “


Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:

” … If wet weather continues, the department says the State Water Project will be able to deliver 35 percent to 45 percent of requested amounts of water.

But the water level is not enough to end the drought, said Frank Gehrke, Chief of California Snow Surveys. He explained that though the state didn’t lose any water content, it gained less than he hoped in the February because there were a few weeks without snow.

“We’re kind of marching in place in terms of what it means for reservoir recovery,” Gehrke said.

Despite recent storms, the water level at Lake Oroville, the principal storage reservoir for the State Water Project, was only at 55 percent of average for this time of year. … “

Read more from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.

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March 4, 2010 · Filed Under Drought, Weather & Snowpack

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