Survey reveals above average snowpack in Sierra
Water managers: Too early to declare end of state drought
UPDATED 2:11 PM PST Dec 30, 2015 By KCRA Staff
EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. (KCRA) —Results from Wednesday's first snowpack survey of the season provided some good news for Californians during the ongoing drought.
The California Department of Water Resources said the measurement put the Sierra snowpack at Phillips Station in El Dorado County, which is at 6,800 feet, at 136 percent of average for this time of year. The water content is at 16.3 inches and snow depth is just under 5 feet.
However statewide, the snowpack stands at 105 percent of average.
"So there is hope, I think -- much more so than last year," said Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program. "El Niño is not a slam dunk. I mean it doesn't guarantee you anything, but at least it is a positive sign.”
After four years of drought, Gehrke plunged a measuring pole into a thick field of snow in the Central Sierra, which includes Lake Tahoe. His survey followed an electronic measurement last week that put the water content of the snowpack at 112 percent of normal. Even more snow has fallen since then.
Despite the positive results, state water managers said it's too early to declare an end to four years of punishing drought. They said they'll feel more confident if the April 1 snowpack is 150 percent of normal and depleted reservoirs reach normal levels.
The snowpack provides about 30 percent of California's water supply during the months when it melts and rushes through rivers and streams to fill reservoirs that remain critically low.
Last Jan. 1, the snowpack was a meager 45 percent of the historical average. On April 1, it hit a record low of 5 percent.
http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sierra/good-news-expected-from-winters-first-sierra-snowpack-survey/37193430
