Will the snowpack measure up?
Surveyors will fan out across the Eastern Sierra Nevada on Friday to determine whether the snowpack associated with this season’s near-record rain can melt into enough water to quench California’s thirst. The annual spring snowpack measurement, conducted by the state’s Cooperative Snows Survey Program, uses data from 300 snow courses to help predict how much water will be available this summer to farmers, wildlife, reservoirs and hydropower managers. Based on recent measurements, snowfall was below average in the northern Sierra and above average in the southern region.
Southern California:
The Metropolitan Water District’s six-county region typically uses 4 million to 4.5 million acre-feet* of water a year. Up to 60% is imported. This year, 1.4 millon acre-feet will come from the Sierra and about 700,000 acre-feet will come from the drought-depleted Colorado River.
* One acre-foot is the amount of water it would take to cover an acre of land to a depth of one foot. It is roughly enough to serve one family of five for a year.
Sources: California Department of Water Resources Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, Metropolitan Water District and Los Angeles
Graphics reporting by Cheryl Brownstein-Santiago, Leslie Carlson and Julie Sheer
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