Western Reservoirs “Look Good” For This Time Of Year

As we move into the final months of the western snowpack season, how might what we see in the higher elevations translate to support of regional water supplies for agricultural irrigation and municipal H2O?

“Following two favorable winters, previously, California's intrastate reservoirs remain in reasonably good shape," noted USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey.  "This year we are expecting pretty favorable runoff in some of the key northern watersheds. The further south you go, reservoirs are not going to be as fully replenished because of the lack of snowpack in the southern Sierra Nevada.”

Rippey added many reservoirs across the west should also benefit from those prior two years of above normal snowpack.

“Exceptions include New Mexico statewide storage there remains quite low," Rippey said.  "That does reflect some of the impacts of really long-term drought also have the low average storage in Washington state and with the lack of snowpack there compared to average, we could see some ongoing water issues in parts of the Northwest come summer.”

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