The shape of Utah's water supply heading into the summer months
Utah's snowpack, which reached its peak late in March, suffered rapid depletion in April in most basins in the state to well-below normal precipitation.
This culminates in a spring runoff that does not spin a good outcome.
'Resultingly, the water supply forecasts issued in this report predict substantially lower runoff volumes than those from last month,' according to the latest Utah Water Supply Outlook report issued this week by the Utah Snow Survey of the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The report said as of May 1, Utah's statewide snow water equivalent (SWE) was 64% of normal (39% lower than last year's May 1 value, and a 28% drop from last month)
Utah's fickle weather has many residents concerned.
A poll released earlier this year said slightly less than half of Utahns seem to believe the state has enough water to meet our needs today, but 57% doubt that we will have enough water 20 years from now, according to a new study of Utahns' perceptions and priorities regarding water.
The study released in April and was conducted by Envision Utah in partnership with Utah Water Ways, the Utah Division of Water Resources and the Office of the Great Salt Lake Commissioner.
Interestingly, 9 out of 10 respondents believe that they use less water than the average household, but 41% feel guilty for the amount of water they use on their landscaping.
They also erroneously believed that more water is used statewide on indoor uses (like showering or washing dishes) than on outdoor irrigation and landscaping.
At the time, Jason Brown, executive vice president of communications and education at Envision Utah, said a surprise takeaway from the survey is the worry by Utah residents that there will not be enough water to meet demand 20 years from now.
'To be honest, from a water conservation perspective, we were a little bit relieved that there's that much concern about the future because our water does sort of cycle from year to year, where one year we have a really dry year, we don't have a ton of snowpack, and then, you know, the next year we might have a lot more. It's easy to maybe get dismissive and say, 'You know what? It's going to be just fine.''
The latest numbers released in the NRCS report this week underscore the disparities that happen in how Mother Nature treats Utah when it comes to water.
It shows:
Extremely poor snowmelt runoff is forecasted for southern Utah, while northern Utah forecasts are more optimistic.
Values range from 7% to 35% of average for the Southeastern Utah, Escalante-Paria, and Southwestern Utah regions, with the Upper Sevier only slightly better.
Farther north, the Price-San Rafael and Duchesne basins have snowmelt runoff predictions in the 50% to 82% of average.
Closer to the Wasatch Front, the forecast numbers vary widely; from as low as 28% of average for West Canyon Creek near Cedar Fort to as high as 93% of average for the Provo River at Woodland.
Second only to Oregon, Utah is in the best overall condition for reservoir storage in the West, sitting at 83% of average, down only 4% from last year.
While intermittent rainstorms this month have helped to delay the need for irrigation, the NRCS and other water watchers stress that conservation is vital to keep reservoir storage as stable as possible so there is enough carryover for next year.
Michael Sanchez, spokesman for the Utah Division of Water Resources, said it is important for people to be vigilant.
'Conservation will be key as we move into summer. We do have a strong reservoir storage kind of throughout the state, but southern Utah is still struggling,' he said.
Sanchez mentioned the drought declaration Utah Gov. Spencer Cox issued last month for 17 counties, stressing the need for conservation and the wise use of water.
'We just want to make sure everyone is still taking that conservation mindset to heart and still still using water as wisely as they can,' Sanchez said.
The division has a useful tool on its website advising residents of the amount of water they for landscaping given a specific area's condition.
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