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| Lack
of Western snowpack could affect water supply |
By
Successful Farming, Agriculture
Online
March 02, 2001 |
Snowpack is below average in much of the West this winter, with this
season's water supply in the Northwest possibly impacted, according to
the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resource Conservation
Service.
According to data collected by the NRCS on February 1, 2001, some
areas are measuring 40-year-low snowpack levels. For example,
snowpacks in central California, southwest Oregon, northeastern
Washington, northern Idaho and northwestern Montana are less than 50%
of average. Northern Nevada, central and southeastern Oregon, the
Oregon and Washington Cascades, northern Washington, British Columbia,
most of Idaho, western Montana, northeastern Wyoming, northern Utah
and central Arizona are well below average with less than 70% of
average.
This could mean low spring and summer streamflows in areas throughout
the West. Measurements of reservoir levels are also below seasonal
averages in several western states.
NRCS continuously monitors the snowpack in the western states and each
year, from January 1 through May 31, and works with the National
Weather Service to forecast the amount of snowmelt runoff in the West,
where snowmelt provides about 75 percent of the water supply.
Major sectors of the economy -- agriculture, industry, recreation, and
government -- base their water management plans on NRCS water supply
forecasts, climate products, and drought risk assessments. Detailed,
up-to-date snowpack and water supply information is available on
NRCS's National Water and Climate Center homepage at www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov. |
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