Snowpack expected to suffer even with wet winter weather

Researchers say it could take four years for California to recover from historic drought, even if the next several winters bring above-normal snowfall to the Sierra Nevada.

Professor Steve Margulis at the University of California, Los Angeles, published research Tuesday showing that the last four years of drought have left a deficit to the state’s water supply.

Snow typically falls each winter in the Sierra and melts during the warm months. It provides water to millions of residents and vast farmland in the nation’s leading agricultural state.

Margulis says that even the El Nino storms that delivered a near-normal winter weren’t enough for a fully recovery; the low snowpack puts pressure on groundwater and draws down reservoirs.

Margulis says he hopes this research will help state leaders chart water policy.

Statewide, officials said roughly 2,000 wells have run dry during California’s most severe drought on record and stretching into its fifth year. Roughly 1,200 of the dry wells are in Tulare County, many clustered in East Porterville, where some are often just 30 feet deep.

Tuesday the Riverside County Board of Supervisors also authorized the closure of seven outdoor recreational areas due to fire risk.

“The potential for large damaging fires occurring this year is enhanced by the continued drought conditions … throughout Riverside County,” Fire Chief John Hawkins said.

Dry conditions raise the risk of wildfires, and fighting them would be challenging given the sites’ terrain and remoteness, according to agency
officials.