Snowpack blues
Below average snow fall raises irrigation concerns
"We’re not alarmed yet. We’re hopeful. But
anytime you’re coming into the new year below average, you’re
worried."
Norm Semanko, executive director of Idaho Water
Users Association
By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Snowfall this winter has been considerably
less than average throughout Idaho, prompting water managers to declare
preliminary concern.
Fortunately, the winter season is only
about a third over, leaving substantial time for storms to pelt Idaho.
"We’re not alarmed yet. We’re
hopeful," said Norm Semanko, executive director of the Idaho Water
Users Association, which represents water interests around the state.
"But anytime you’re coming into the new year below average, you’re
worried."
The Big and Little Wood river drainages are
71 percent of their average winter precipitation, and are only 58 percent
of average of the typical water content held in the snowpack, according to
the Idaho Department of Water Resources.
According to the Sawtooth National Forest’s
Ketchum Ranger District in Ketchum, .6 inches of precipitation fell in
November, a month that typically garners 1.7 inches. In December, 1.05
inches fell, and so far in January, zero inches have fallen. Both December
and January typically receive about 2.3 inches annually.
Last year at this time, it was apparent the
state’s reservoirs would fill up, based on water levels and snowpack,
Semanko said.
"The carryover was low this year
because of the hot and dry summer, and so far this winter, we haven’t
seen the snowpack we’d hope to see," he said. "But we’ve
still got a couple of months, and we’re hopeful that things will turn
around.
"If we don’t see some storms here in
January and February, we’ll become alarmed. Nobody can control Mother
Nature."
Ironically, the snow supply in the southern
desert drainages is greater than rainy northern Idaho when measured as a
percent of average.
"The Panhandle snowpack is half of
average. Because they typically receive more moisture than southern Idaho,
it may be harder to make up the deficit," said Ron Abramovich, water
supply specialist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Boise.
For example, the amount of precipitation in
the snowpack on Bear Mountain near Lake Pend Oreille currently is about 14
inches when the average for this time of year is 41 inches.
In comparison, the snowpack for desert
river basins south of the Snake River last week were 95 percent of
average. The normally arid Bear River Basin in southeastern Idaho is 87
percent of normal.
The West is under the influence of a weak
La Nina weather pattern, Abramovich said. That means a band from southern
Idaho to southern Colorado has received more moisture than areas north and
south of that latitude.
The high pressure that has kept storms from
reaching Idaho is weakening, he said.
The snowpack, along with a myriad of other
Idaho water related topics, will be discussed at the Idaho Water Users
Association’s annual convention, from Jan. 23 to Jan. 25 in Boise. Call
344-6690 for information.
The Associated Press contributed to this
article.
