Statewide the Sierra Nevada snowpack is 162 percent of average, thanks to the wet winter that has heavily dusted the mountains.
The Department of Water Resources conducted their fourth snow survey of 2019 on April 1 and recorded 106.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 51 inches.
This is good news, since the Sierra snowpack accounts for about 30 percent of California’s water needs and all of Desert Water Agency’s imported water supply. Even though Desert Water Agency is hundreds of miles from the Sierras, the agency has rights to some of that water. When precipitation and reservoir levels are low, it reduces the amount of water that we can import and use to replenish the groundwater.
While this year’s snowpack has helped fill reservoirs and meet water demands, the state cannot rely on the annual snowpack alone. Conservation efforts and various local and state-wide programs are important to ensure a dependable water supply into the future.