Idaho Snowpack Survey Leaves Northern Areas With Concern

While more snow has fallen in Idaho since February, big concerns still linger with the much drier conditions up north compared to the south. Erin Wharton, a water supply specialist for NRCS Idaho, says:

We're finishing this year with a below-normal snowpack up north, and that even extends down into Salmon Basin, and then a well above-normal snowpack along the southern border. And where we saw the most improvement and the most change was in areas like the Boise Basin and the Wood and Lost Basins, as well as the Upper Snake.

So what does the latest survey mean for farmers and other water users? Wharton says it all depends where you are: "In areas like the Boise River Basin, or the Upper Snake, or the Wood and Lost, or Salmon Falls, Oakley, places like that, they're all doing really well for irrigated water supply this year."

There's hope for a slow snowpack melt in the coming weeks and months for manageable amounts of water flowing into reservoirs.