A skier takes advantage of perfect corn snow during a backcountry ski tour up Ward Canyon guided by Alpenglow Sports in the Sierra Nevada mountains near Tahoe City on Feb. 21, 2015.
California – California’s mountain snowpack is hovering just below average as spring kicks off, offering a promising water supply boost—but lingering drought conditions in Southern California remain a concern.
Statewide, the snowpack measured 90% of average on Friday, just before the typical April 1 peak when warming temperatures begin melting the snow at a faster pace, said Andy Reising, manager of the Department of Water Resources’ snow surveys and water supply forecasting unit.
“Ninety percent is really pretty good. I’m feeling generally positive,” Reising told reporters as snow fell at Phillips Station in the eastern mountains, one of over 250 measurement sites across the state.
A late-season winter storm is expected to dump more precipitation on Northern California early next week, giving the snowpack a final boost before the seasonal melt accelerates. The survey was moved up to avoid travel during hazardous conditions.
California’s water situation has improved dramatically over the past two years, following a brutal drought that forced severe cutbacks in water use. Nearly all of the state’s reservoirs are now above their historic capacity, thanks to back-to-back wet winters. The snowpack is particularly crucial because it supplies roughly one-third of the water used by California’s 39 million residents and vast agricultural sector.
However, while Northern and Central California are benefiting from healthy water reserves, Reising warned that Southern California remains much drier than usual. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of the region, including Los Angeles, is experiencing moderate to extreme drought conditions.
“We know floods and droughts can happen at any time. It is the California way of life to expect that,” Reising said.
At Phillips Station, officials recorded a snow depth of 39.5 inches, with a water content of 17 inches—just 70% of the average for that location.
Meanwhile, water allocations from the State Water Project, which provides water to 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland, remain at 40% of requested supplies, similar to last year. The Trump administration has expressed interest in ensuring California farmers have access to more water from the federally managed system, which operates alongside state-controlled water projects.
Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors, argued that California officials could have released more water this year and called for more flexible decision-making.
“We do have this mismatch between hydrology and the allocation, and what are the different physical and policy changes that need to be made to address that,” Pierre said.
Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Oakland-based Pacific Institute, emphasized the need for long-term water management strategies.
“We should never let a good water year let us become complacent,” Gleick said. “We never have enough water to waste.”
