The latest survey puts the Sierra snowpack at 106 percent of what it should be this time of year. Last April, it was only 81 percent. Eric Alvarez is with the Department of Water Resources. He says given the three dry years we’ve had, it’s an improvement – but it’s not enough:
“We can’t really place all our cards or all of our chips on this one year and go “wow, we’re out of the woods,” because we’re not. We’re just back to a place where we’re at normal.”
The snowpack typically peaks in April. Thanks to the recent winter storms, officials say farmers and water agencies will now get 20 percent of the water they’ve requested from the state water project. That’s up five percent from the most recent allocation. Alvarez says it could go up again, but Lake Oroville, a major reservoir, is still less than half full. As the Sierra snowpack melts, it provides water for about two-thirds of the state.
