[Water_news] 1. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS - Top Item for 2/11/09

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation for DWR personnel of significant news articles and comment

 

February 11, 2009

 

Top Item–

 

Rain not ticket out of woods

Low snowpack numbers could still mean rationing later

The Union Tribune – 2/11/09

By Robert Krier

 

Five straight days of rain have saturated the ground from Palomar Mountain to Campo, but all the moisture isn't enough to wash away talk of drought.

 

That's because reservoirs in Northern California and the Colorado River hold the key to whether residents of San Diego County will have to take shorter showers and water their lawns less in the coming months.

 

The local region imports most of its water from those two sources. While the Colorado River basin's snowpack is above normal, California's remains woefully short because of a lack of storms in pivotal sections of the Sierra Nevada.

 

Meteorologists said the second half of the month could brighten the state's water-supply forecast, even though water managers will likely continue their rationing plans. A series of storms is predicted to hit California, with heavy snow expected in the Sierra by next week.

 

“I'm cautiously optimistic, but it's still not enough,” said Elissa Lynn, the state's senior meteorologist. “Two weeks alone won't do it, but if we have a pattern shift, that would help.”

 

Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for California, said the forecasts mean nothing until snow hits the ground.

“It's a hopeful sign, but we have to wait to see how (the storms) materialize,” Gehrke said.

 

Drought may be the last thing on the minds of San Diegans lately.

 

Since Thursday, San Diego has been drenched with 2.21 inches of rain. Yesterday's count – 0.37 of an inch as of 4 p.m. – raised the total for the rainfall season (from July 1) to 8.34 inches. That's more than 2 inches above normal.

 

Most of the county has similar surpluses.

 

The storm yesterday generated strong winds; reports of hail in downtown San Diego, Escondido and El Cajon; and more than 6 inches of snow in the local mountains. Snow fell as low as 3,500 feet.

 

“It's been snowing since about 7:30 this morning,” Renee Porter, manager of Mom's Pie in Julian, said late yesterday afternoon. “It's windy and very cold.”

 

The Wild Animal Park received 1.03 inches of rain and Santee had 0.99 of an inch.

 

Heavy, early morning cloudbursts and icy conditions caused minor flooding and a rash of accidents on roads. The California Highway Patrol reported 115 accidents on local roads by mid-afternoon. On a typical dry day, the agency responds to 50 to 75 accidents over a 24-hour period.

 

In a reverse of the usual pattern, recent storms that pummeled Southern California only brushed the northern end of the state, which has seen precipitation that's far below average.

 

About 40 percent of the water imported to San Diego County comes from the state water project. California's major reservoirs are filled with runoff from spring snowmelt in the Sierra Nevada and other mountain ranges in Northern California.

 

The statewide snowpack is about 60 percent of normal.

 

Like Southern California, the southern Sierra has fared better. The snowpack there was 71 percent of normal as of yesterday. But most runoff from the southern Sierra doesn't go into the reservoirs that supply water to Southern California.

 

The northern Sierra's snowpack, which is crucial for those reservoirs, stood at 43 percent of normal yesterday.

Before the most recent round of storms, state water officials said north-to-south deliveries might plummet to just 15 percent of normal later this year.

 

Such a drastic reduction would likely lead to water rationing locally.

 

“It's hard to get people to understand,” said John Liarakos, spokesman for the San Diego County Water Authority. “This rain helps, but we're a long way from fixing the situation we're in.”

 

He keeps urging residents and businesses to turn off their irrigation systems during periods of rainfall.

 

The bright spot in the water-supply picture is the Colorado River basin, which accounts for 60 percent of the water imported to San Diego. The snowpack there was 4 percent above normal as of yesterday, and no delivery cutbacks are scheduled for that source in 2009.

 

Today and most of tomorrow should be dry in San Diego County. The next storm is predicted to arrive late tomorrow night or early Thursday. Light showers are forecast.

 

Another storm could reach the region over the weekend, but its strength and timing is uncertain.

 

The return of wintry weather in San Diego after a warm January caught at least one visitor by surprise. Chicago resident Timothy Noonan, in town for a mortgage bankers convention, brought no rain gear. He had come to San Diego five times before and never seen the windy, rainy conditions he encountered yesterday at Seaport Village.

 

“I came to get away from the snow. I prefer the sun, but I can deal with this,” Noonan said. “It was 15 degrees in Chicago when I left.” #

 

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