STATE NEWS
7
California Survey Finds Little Snow as Statewide Snowpack Drops to 38 Percent Following Record Dry Months (April 1, 2022) DWR conducted the fourth snow survey of the season at Phillips Station. Following three straight months of record dry conditions, the manual survey recorded just 2.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of one inch, which is four percent of average for this location for April 1. April 1 is typically when the snowpack is at its highest, however the statewide snowpack likely peaked in early-March this year and the Northern Sierra snowpack peaked in mid-January. Dry conditions are impacting every region of the state, as the Northern, Central, and Southern Sierra snowpacks are all standing just above 28 percent to 43 percent of average for this date. https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2022/ April-22/April-2022-Snow-Survey Historically Dry Conditions Impact Planned State Water Project Deliveries On March 18, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) announced it must reduce the State Water Project allocation to 5 percent of requested supplies for 2022. DWR previously set the allocation at 15 percent but a historically dry January and February, with no significant storms forecast for March, requires a reduction in the allocation to conserve available water supply. In addition to the 5 percent allocation, DWR will also provide any unmet critical health and safety needs of the 29 water agencies that contract to receive State Water Project supplies. https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2022/ March-22/SWP-Allocation-March
Early Winter Storms Provide Much-Needed Sierra Snowpack On December 30, 2021, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted the first snow survey of the season at Phillips Station. Early winter storms this month provided a strong start to the season and some drought relief, but California remains in a drought. Today’s manual survey recorded 78.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 20 inches, which is 202 percent of average for this location on this date. The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR’s water supply forecast. Statewide the snowpack is 160 percent of average for this date. https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2021/ Dec-21/DWR-12-30-21-Snow-Survey
State Hazard Mitigation Plan Update Biweekly meetings on Tuesday afternoons are being facilitated by Cal OES and DWR, focusing on the flood element. Anyone who is an active participant in FMA is welcome to join in the process. A draft of the SHMP will be completed by the end of June 2022. The SHMP is to be used by all state and local efforts in identifying future hazards and mitigation actions, as well as driving local general plan updates. Questions: Contact Remy Gill, CoLead, at Remy.Gill@water.ca.gov or Cal OES at SHMP@ caloes.ca.gov. https://www.caloes.ca.gov/cal-oes-divisions/hazardmitigation/hazard-mitigation-planning
DWR Releases Funds for Repairs of the Friant-Kern Canal With California now in its third year of drought, collaboration among state, federal and local partners is critical to improving the resiliency of California’s water system. Today, the California Department of Water Resources announced it has released $29.8 million in funding to the Friant Water Authority (FWA) to repair segments of the Friant-Kern Canal, a key water conveyance facility in the San Joaquin Valley damaged by land subsidence.
FMA NEWS
