The Department of Water Resources (DWR) conducted the final snowpack survey of 2017. The snowpack water equivalent (SWE) totals in the northern, central and southern Sierra Nevada are around twice the amount of the average numbers.
The statewide SWE totaled 42.5 inches which is 196 percent of the May 1 average. The central Sierra Nevada totaled 47.1 inches which is the highest above-average number at 202 percent of normal. The SWE of the northern Sierra snowpack is 39.9 inches, 199 percent of average and the southern Sierra totaled 37.6 inches, 180 percent of average.
“California’s cities and farms can expect good water supplies this summer. But this ample snowpack should not wash away memories of the intense drought of 2012-2016. California’s precipitation is the most variable in the nation, and we cannot afford to stop conserving water,” DWR Acting Director Bill Croyle said in a press release.
DWR said melting snow accounts for one-third of the water used by Californians.