Our area has seen several snow storms and several more are in the forecast so many folks may be wondering what that means water-wise for our area. Castle Country Radio had the opportunity to speak over the telephone with Utah Division of Water Resources Drought Coordinator, Laura Haskell to talk about all the details.
“We are doing really well right now, in the Price area we have an inch more, over an inch more of water in the snowpack then we did this time last year. This time last year was about when the faucets sort of shut off for about six weeks. So we’re hoping that doesn’t happen this year, we have some storms in the forecast and we’re hopeful that won’t be the case this year,” said Haskell. The forecast shows that our area will see more storms over the next few weeks which will be very helpful.
Most of the storms that we have received lately have been heavy wet snow which has been good for water levels. “That will make a big difference in getting that spring runoff down into the reservoirs that we need. Getting it into Scofield which is, you know, quite low right now and we want to get some water back up into Scofield and those other reservoirs,” said Haskell. She also added that our area has about 90 days before the snow peaks, so we want to keep having these storms come through because we need the water.
We also want to have the temperatures stay low so that it doesn’t cause early run-off. “That is always something we’re a little worried about because the longer that run-off lasts it sort of soaks in more and we lose more of it before it makes it to our reservoirs. If we can keep it and have it run off a little more quickly and later in the year, then more of it makes it into our reservoirs,” stated Haskell. We are only halfway through the first snowpack of the winter so officials hope that the second half goes as well as the first portion has produced.
Most people think that conserving water is done mainly through the summer months but you can also take precautions during the winter months too. “When we’re running the dishwasher or running the washing machine, make sure that those are full before we run them. Because they’re going to take the same amount of water so we want to make sure that we’re filling them all the way up. I noticed the other day that our shower head had started to leak when we run the shower, so I need to get in and get that fixed. You know if you have any leaks around that you see around your house fix those up because that’s just a water loss right there for no reason at all,” stated Haskell. Another great way to save water is to dial back water usage by shortening shower times.
You can learn more water-wise tips and tricks by visiting the Division of Water Resources website at https://water.utah.gov/