Water Supply Forecast Shows Record Snow in Northern Parts of West, Parched in Southwest

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Spencer Miller, Natural Resources Conservation Service, on April 14, 2014 at 1:00 PM

Streamflow in the West consists largely of accumulated mountain snow that melts and flows into streams as temperatures warm. (NRCS photo)

March storms increased snowpack in the northern half of the West but didn’t provide much relief for the dry southern half, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Water and Climate Center (NWCC) in its April 2014 water supply forecast.

According to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), most of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and northern parts of Colorado and Utah are expected to have near normal or above normal water supplies, according to the forecast.  Far below normal streamflow is expected for southern Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah and western Nevada.

Early April is commonly regarded as the transition from snow accumulation to snowmelt, making the April 1 water supply forecast of key importance for planning, according to NWCC hydrologist Cara McCarthy.

“Many water managers, reservoir operators, irrigation districts and hydroelectric power companies make significant strategic decisions based on the April forecasts,” McCarthy said.

In states where snowmelt accounts for the majority of the seasonal water supply, information about snowpack serves as an indicator of future water supply. Streamflow in the West consists largely of accumulated mountain snow that melts and flows into streams as temperatures warm. NRCS scientists analyze the snowpack, air temperature, soil moisture and other measurements taken from remote sites to develop the water supply forecasts.

For the second consecutive month, many snow telemetry, or SNOTEL, sites in Montana, Wyoming, and parts of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon received two to three times the normal amount of precipitation. The Cascade Mountains in Washington went from extremely dry in January to a normal snowpack currently and Montana and Wyoming snowpack is now at record levels.

“There’s flooding potential in the Missouri River basin,” McCarthy said. “These areas will be most vulnerable if snow melts rapidly during a hot spell, or if there’s extreme rain while the streams are swollen with snowmelt.”

NRCS’ streamflow forecasts are one of the tools used to assess drought conditions. USDA is partnering with western states to help mitigate the severe effects of drought on agriculture.

Since 1939, NRCS has conducted snow surveys and issued regular water supply forecasts. Since the late 1970s, NRCS has been installing, operating and maintaining an extensive, high-elevation automated system called SNOTEL, designed to collect snowpack and related climatic data in the western U.S. and Alaska.

The center will continue to monitor and forecast water supplies for the next two months. View the April Snow Survey and Water Supply Forecast map or view information by state. And to learn more about how NRCS is helping private landowners deal with drought, visit NRCS’ drought resources. You can also visit USDA’s disaster and drought information page.

Watch the April water supply forecast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoK5Vdd3NUc

Reducing Wildfire Risk and Protecting Our Drinking Water in a Changing Climate

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Tom Tidwell, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service and Mike Connor, Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, on July 19, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Cross-posted from the White House Council of Environmental Quality blog:

Americans are all too familiar with the devastation catastrophic wildland fires can wreak on the landscape. Fire takes lives, destroys homes, impacts wildlife, and devastates millions of acres of valuable forests and grasslands every year. But what is lesser known is that these fires also severely damage watersheds—the very lands that provide clean and abundant drinking water for millions of Americans every day.

To address this problem, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell this week announced an historic agreement between the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation to focus on proactively restoring forest lands around important watersheds and preventing costly, destructive wildfires in these areas.

The partnership is included in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan as a means to reduce wildfire risk, protect critical infrastructure, and lessen the impacts of climate change, which include higher risks of large and destructive wildfires. The damage caused to rivers, dams, and irrigation systems after a wildfire can be tremendous. Clearing out the sediment and ash left behind is costing the nation millions of dollars every year, and the impacts of climate change are expected to continue to intensify.  Climate change also exacerbates dry conditions, which can slow the natural recovery time after a wildfire.

Through this Western Watershed Enhancement Partnership, our two federal agencies will begin working with water users on both the local government and private sector level to restore healthy forested watersheds across the West. In cooperation with regional Colorado government agencies, our first effort in this partnership will start in the Upper Colorado Headwaters and Big Thompson watersheds. Our goal is to ensure these important watersheds are kept reliable and clean for the hundreds of thousands of people who depend on them for drinking water, farming and electricity.

Heavy rains after a wildfire caused this heavy sediment deposit (Photo Credit: R. H. Meade, U.S. Geological Survey)

On a national level, our partnership will work to restore forest and watershed health and conduct planning for post-wildfire actions and responses. We will strive to protect municipal and agricultural water supplies and water delivery systems from future threats and we invite cities, towns, and rural communities to partner with us.

As land managing agencies, we share an interest in the long-term sustainability of our Nation’s water supplies. These waters are the life blood for American agriculture, the source of drinking water for millions of Americans, and a key component of healthy local economies. By working cooperatively across agency lines, we can keep our forested and grassland watersheds safe for the millions of Americans and wildlife that depend on these clean and abundant water sources.

Tom Tidwell is the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service.

Mike Connor is the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation.

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