California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted the fourth snow survey of the season Friday and found nearly bare ground.
The manual survey conducted at Phillips Station on April 1 recorded just 2.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of one inch, which is four percent of average. Statewide, the snowpack is down to 38 percent of average for this date.
I know what you’re thinking, it has to be an April Fool’s joke, right? Unfortunately, the reality is the snowpack at Phillips Station has plummeted since the beginning of the year. In a normal season, the snowpack depth would be about five feet deep at this time of year.
April 1 is typically when the snowpack is at its highest, however the statewide snowpack likely peaked in early-March this year and the Northern Sierra snowpack peaked in mid-January.
“With the exceptionally dry conditions during the past three months, our latest statewide snowmelt forecasts are only 44 percent of average,” said Sean de Guzman, Manager of DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit. “While today usually marks the typical peak of the state’s snowpack, this year’s snowpack likely peaked in mid-January in the Northern Sierra. Most of the snow accumulation this year came from just two storms in December that were followed by the driest January and February on record in the Sierra, and unfortunately March only brought a few weak systems.”
While the state continues to take necessary actions to help extend the state’s existing water supply, all Californians are also encouraged to do their part now to conserve as much water as possible to make it last.
Governor Newsom has called on all Californians to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15 percent and that local water suppliers to move to Level 2 of their Water Shortage Contingency Plans. Further, in an Executive Order last week, he asked the State Water Resources Control Board to consider a ban on the watering of decorative grass at businesses and institutions.
