Sierra Nevada snowpack at the end of March remains 39% below average – the same as when the month began – and California farmers fear a drier-than-usual summer.
Farmers had been hoping for March storms, but the month is wrapping up usually dry.
"Hopes for a March miracle have dissipated," California Farm Bureau Federation wrote in a statement this week.
According to a March 30 report from the California Department of Water Resources, or CDWR, the average statewide snow water equivalent was just 17.1 inches. The Sierra snowpack, according to officials, normally supplies about 30% of California's water.
CDWR's recent manual surveys show the state had already faced five consecutive months of below average snow and precipitation, so a dry March compounded an already serious problem. Farmers statewide are bracing for a summer of potential drought, limited water supplies and another fire season.
CDWR Director Karla Nemeth said in a statement earlier this month that unless a series of strong storms hit this spring, the state would end up with "a critically dry year on the heels of last year's dry conditions."
The department will conduct another manual snowpack survey April 1. Early April is typically when snowpack reaches its deepest level, so April's numbers should be higher than March's, but officials say the overall snowpack situation doesn’t look hopeful.
"With back-to-back dry years, water efficiency and drought preparedness are more important than ever for communities, agriculture and the environment," said Nemeth of the department.
According to CDWR, California's reservoirs are already showing the impacts of a second consecutive dry year. Shasta Lake, the state's largest reservoir, was at about 68% of average for March and Lake Oroville was at 55% of average.
Availability of water will impact allocations for California farms. Last week, both state and federal water projects announced they would reduce or delay deliveries due to the dry winter and other restrictions.
In December, CDWR had announced an initial allocation of 10%. The department last week amended its projected allocation amount, saying it expects to deliver only 5% of requested supplies.
That 5% allocation amounts to 210,266 acre-feet of water, distributed to the 29 State Water Project contractors who serve more than 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland.
The department says allocations will most likely be finalized by May.
April 01, 2021 at 10:30PM
https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/water/california-likely-to-face-a-critically-dry-year/article_9f95cd08-924d-11eb-962e-0b58863b9d45.html
California likely to face a critically dry year - Capital Press
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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