As Sierra Snowpack Dwindles, Concern Mounts Over Fire Risk and Water Management

Every year, as winter winds down into April, officials with California’s Department of Water Resources perform their snowpack measurements for the last time.

The state considers the final winter survey, conducted on April 1, as the best indicator of how much water might be available for farms and cities during the dry summer months to follow.

That’s because the measurement is conducted when the snowpack is at its highest. From then on, the snow melts, feeding into rivers and reservoirs throughout the state.

South of Lake Tahoe, surveyors at the Phillips Station usually dig down through feet of snow to make water supply predictions.

But this year, they said, there’s nothing to measure.

“I want to welcome you all to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had and maybe one where people could use an umbrella,” said Karla Nemeth, the Department of Water Resources’ director.

Andy Reising, who manages the department’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit, addressed the media while carrying  a measuring device marked at five feet — the height at which average snow levels are measured. “Normally, we’d be standing right here,” he said, pointing to the top of the measuring stick.

March’s record-breaking warmth left the state’s snowpack at a mere 18% of its April 1 average. State officials and scientists are warning of strained water resources throughout the state and an earlier-than-usual fire season.

The atypical heat was part of a larger wave of warm temperatures that swept through the continental U.S during March. The National Weather Service reported that from March 15 through the 26, more than 1,100 records for warm temperatures were tied or broken.

“This was probably the most statistically and meteorologically extreme heat event that has occurred in the southwestern U.S. in the record,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist and researcher for the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.

On top of melting the previously established snowpack, the record-breaking heat also spelled less March snow and more precipitation. The result: the second-lowest April measurement on record for Phillips Station, only behind 2015, when no snow was visible on the ground.

Santa Clara County is one of the only Bay Area counties that relies on the state’s water deliveries. Aaron Baker, chief operating officer for Valley Water, which services Silicon Valley’s needs, said he doesn’t yet see cause for alarm.

“We’re in a fine position so far this year,” Baker said. “That’s because we’re able to lean on our local water supplies, which we’ve been able to recharge over the last few years.”

But, Baker said, another dry year could spell trouble. If that will be the case, “We’ve got our eyes wide open,” Baker said. “This is how droughts begin.”

He underscored the need for investment to redesign with resilience in mind.

In the meantime, Valley Water is urging Santa Clara residents to sign up for the county’s outdoor water-wise surveys, a free service that helps residents identify leaks in outdoor irrigation systems.