Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment
May 2, 2007
1. Top Items
Snowpack is at very low level, but state's reservoirs are well supplied - Associated Press
May snow reading just 29% of normal; Poor Sierra pack leads state to push water conservation - San Francisco Chronicle
Season's last Sierra survey finds little good news as authorities confront risk of drought.
ANOTHER MONTH OF DRY WEATHER PUTS FOCUS ON CONSERVATION -
Scarce winter snow seen as warning; Poor snowpack is a 'wake-up call' to conserve, chief says - Sacramento
Ranchers worry as too-few April showers leave
Snowpack is at very low level, but state's reservoirs are well supplied
Associated Press – 5/2/07
The last Sierra snow survey of the season found that the average snow depth along the 400-mile-long range was just 29% of normal, the lowest since 1988. At Echo Summit, near
The snowpack was 27% of normal for this time of year in the northern Sierra, 33% of normal in the central Sierra and 24% to the south, the Department of Water Resources said.
The Sierra snowpack is important because it acts as a massive frozen reservoir for the state, releasing water in spring and summer for cities and farmers.
Despite this year's dry conditions, state water managers remain optimistic about water deliveries in the months ahead. A previous string of wet winters has left the state's reservoirs and aquifers full.
"The reason that we don't panic when there's a 27% snowpack is because of the investment that happened in this state, you know, 50 and 75 years ago. And it's our turn to invest," said Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used the dismal snowpack to promote his $4.5-billion proposal to build two dams, a week after his plan was derailed by Senate Democrats.
"As we experience climate change and the resulting lower annual snowpacks, it is critical that we increase the amount of runoff captured by building additional water storage facilities," the governor said in a statement.
Jim Evans, a spokesman for Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), said Schwarzenegger's dam proposal "is premature," although more reservoirs may eventually fit into an overall water strategy being developed by Senate Democrats. #
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-snowpack2may02,1,1418908.story
May snow reading just 29% of normal; Poor Sierra pack leads state to push water conservation
San Francisco Chronicle – 5/2/07
By Carl Hall, staff writer
State officials renewed calls for voluntary water conservation to head off rationing after the annual May 1 survey found the Sierra snowpack at just 29 percent of normal statewide, the lowest since 1988.
Frank Gehrke and Dave Hart of the state Department of Water Resources didn't even bother to take their measuring devices out of their vehicle before they hiked out into a barren field near Highway 50 at Phillips Station, a roadside stop established in 1859 at the 6,800-foot level.
Patches of white lingered on the hills around them, and the Sierra peaks were snowcapped in the distance. But all the surveyors spotted on the ground at Phillips Station were lodgepole pine cones and a few scattered dog droppings.
The meadow was under 67.4 inches of snow on the same date last year, double the historic average.
"This is definitely a dry year, no doubt about that," Hart said.
That was bracing news, but hardly a surprise, for
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, manager of the Hetch Hetchy system and supplier for 2.4 million Bay Area water users, hopes to see a 10 percent reduction in usage. Besides a diminished Sierra runoff, the system faces the added problem of seismic troubles at its Calaveras reservoir in
All other reservoirs in the system will be filled to start the dry season, PUC spokesman Tony Winnicker said, because of the excess water in previous years. But there won't be enough runoff to refill the reservoirs as the year progresses. That sets up a potential water shortage in 2008, unless next winter turns out to be wetter than average and recharges the system.
Officials will assess usage and storage trends in July. Contingency plans for mandatory cutbacks already are being drafted just in case. The system serves customers in
"Two dry years in a row would be virtually impossible to weather without some kind of rationing," Winnicker said. "You can't call it a drought after only one year, but we're certainly not in good position for another year like this."
The real concern is that a changing climate will make dry years -- and potentially record-breaking droughts -- much more common than once thought possible. Areas like
Mark Svoboda, a climatologist at the
But it's not clear if it's the start of a true long-term drought.
"The real kicker will be what happens next year," Svoboda said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Water Resources Director Lester Snow used Tuesday's survey to plug the administration's controversial reservoir-construction program, part of an overall scheme to repair the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and boost conservation. But Senate Democrats already have rejected a $4 billion water bond backed by the governor, raising questions about two proposed new reservoirs.
During a news conference, Snow characterized the snowpack readings -- 27 percent of normal in the Northern Sierra, 33 percent in the central part of the range, and 24 percent in the south, for a statewide average of 29 percent -- as a wake-up call.
In a prepared statement, the governor said, "Unless we plan for the future, we will not be able to sustain consecutive drought years and severe water shortages will have a grave impact to our quality of life and
It's too soon to tell whether daytime use of lawn sprinklers and other forms of obvious water-guzzling will become politically incorrect enough to stave off rationing. Already, though, it's clear that some high-profile water users have begun tuning in to the idea of conservation in the era of global warming.
Flora Grubb, who just opened a 28,000-square-foot plant and garden-supply store in
She wants to help break Bay Area residents of their nostalgia for the grassy expanses and rose gardens favored by their grandmothers back East. She and her allies are pushing drought-tolerant palms and succulents in hopes they will help the cause of climate adaptation take root.
"Most of the plants I like aren't water hogs," Grubb said. "Our focus is on climate-appropriate, water-sparing, durable plants." #
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/05/02/SNOW.TMP
Season's last Sierra survey finds little good news as authorities confront risk of drought.
ANOTHER MONTH OF DRY WEATHER PUTS FOCUS ON CONSERVATION
By Paul Rogers, staff writer
As expected, May 1 brought no miracle for
State hydrologists completed their fifth and final Sierra snow survey of the year on Tuesday and told water experts what they already knew: This winter was the driest since
Bay Area water districts have been nervously watching the Sierra. Snow that accumulates in the mountains there every winter acts as a natural water bank. As it melts each summer, it fills rivers and reservoirs that cities and farms depend on for drinking water and irrigation.
"It's not a surprise. April was below average as well. It's more continued bad news for an already dry year," said Tony Winnicker, a spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which provides water to 2.4 million Bay Area residents from San Francisco to Palo Alto, Milpitas and north San Jose.
"It makes conservation more important than ever," Winnicker said.
As of Tuesday,
The snowpack is 29 percent of average when measured another way, with automatic snow sensors - pressure-sensitive devices that measure snow by its weight.
The last time a May 1 measurement has been that low was in 1992, when it was 21 percent, according to Department of Water Resources data.
The administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the numbers were of concern, but that it's too early to call 2007 a drought year.
"Are we at the beginning of a long drought? We don't know," said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources. "We won't know until next year."
Reservoir levels high
He noted that many of
At a news conference Tuesday, Snow said
"It's our turn to invest," Snow said.
But Democrats oppose those projects. They and environmental groups say they are too costly, provide windfalls for farmers that cities would pay for, and would harm the environment.
Last week, the state Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee voted 4-3 to kill the plan.
Conservation request
The San Francisco PUC has asked its customers to cut water use 10 percent voluntarily or face mandatory restrictions later this summer. In the three weeks since that request went out, however, water use has not declined, Winnicker said.
"The good news is that we're getting into warmer times and it isn't rising," he said. "It's too early to tell whether people are complying."
The East Bay Municipal Utilities District has asked customers to water their lawns only three days a week. Similar requests are in place in
But the Santa Clara Valley Water District, which draws half its water from groundwater wells - relying less on snow - reiterated Tuesday that it has no plans for cutbacks.
Candice Kwok-Smith, a spokeswoman for the district, said: "Our groundwater basins are relatively full, and that's what's helping us through this dry weather." #
http://www.mercurynews.com/healthandscience/ci_5798681?nclick_check=1
Scarce winter snow seen as warning; Poor snowpack is a 'wake-up call' to conserve, chief says
Sacramento
By Matt Weiser, staff writer
The dry winter was a "wake-up call" for more conservation and infrastructure investment, California Water Resources Director Lester Snow said Tuesday.
His comments came as the state released its final snow survey of the year, showing the snowpack stands at just 29 percent of normal.
"It's a manifestation that things are different" because of climate change, Snow said. "Current and future droughts are going to be deeper and longer than historic droughts. The extremes are going to be more extreme. There was a time
The state wants local water agencies to call for much more conservation to avoid drawing down reservoirs excessively this summer. The state plans to offer technical assistance and fund conservation projects from Proposition 84, the $5.4 billion bond measure approved by voters in November.
But the Schwarzenegger administration is "not pulling anything off the table," Snow said, referring to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan for two new reservoirs, recently rejected by the Legislature.
Water-saving tips can be found on the Sacramento Regional Water Authority's Web site at: www.rwah2o.org. #
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/164649.html
Ranchers worry as too-few April showers leave
Associated Press – 5/1/07
By Olivia Munoz, staff writer
The forecasts spell trouble for
Mike Blasingame, a fifth-generation rancher in the
"My business is all about the gain," said Blasingame. "How much can they gain is if there's nothing out there for them to eat?" he said.
With grass in short supply before the hot summer months, many ranchers supplement their livestock with hay, which becomes expensive and scarce when a whole region is dry at the same time.
Although the prices consumers pay for beef and lamb are not expected to increase from the dry spell that has continued throughout the spring, milk prices may go up, experts said.
Dairy farmers usually buy hay for their cows. But with beef cattle and sheep ranchers also competing for feed, hay prices are going up, forcing some dairy operators to cut back on the amount they fork out to their animals, said Mike Marsh, a spokesman for the Western United Dairymen.
"Better-fed cows provide more milk. If you can't feed the cows, then that lessened supply can drive the overall prices up," Marsh said.
The lack of precipitation this spring has led to the lowest
"If it's low, well, that just leads to a whole string of problems," Blasingame said. He worries that a second dry winter next year would exacerbate the problems he faces this year feeding and watering his calves, especially if rangeland that usually gets all its moisture from the clouds has to be irrigated.
Many counties in the
Other farmers face weather-related losses as well. About 40 percent of the sugar beets in
http://www.montereyherald.com/search/ci_5794196
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