String of wet winters ends, little likelihood of water shortage

Tom Gardner

Friday, May 12, 2000 | 3:48 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - A record five consecutive wet winters across Nevada have finally ended with a below-normal season, but water watchers say there's little likelihood of summertime shortages.

"Nevada is putting the exclamation point to ending the generally wet period that has been the rule since the 1994-1995 water year," the National Weather Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service said in a joint release.

"Warm months have resulted in a poor water supply outlook for the state this season. Some central Nevada streams may have already peaked for the season while the streams draining the Eastern Sierra Nevada range should see their crests within the next few weeks."

As a result, the statement said watersheds with adequate water storage should be okay this summer while those with minimal or no storage could run dry.

On the plus side, the agencies says the chance of any flooding is slim to none.

Precipitation since the water year began Oct. 1 ranges from 79 percent in eastern Nevada to 90 percent in the Upper Humboldt River with all other areas in the state showing in the 80-87 percent range.

But with the warm weather before the current cold snap, the snowpacks that feed springtime runoff have dwindled.

The Truckee River still holds 79 percent of its average water content, but that plunges to a dismal 20 percent in the Owyhee River basin. Despite its high precipitation figure, the Upper Humboldt snowpack is down to 24 percent of average.

The good news is in the amount of water stored in reservoirs along the principal rivers. All are well over 100 percent of average except for the Walker and Carson rivers, which have little storage capacity.

Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River system are close to 150 percent of average storage for this time of year, ranging down to 70 percent along the Walker River. Carson River storage is at 98 percent - all in Lahontan Reservoir.

Federal Water Master Garry Stone is releasing water from Tahoe to keep it 4-6 inches below its peak capacity and says it holds plenty of water for this summer and for summers to come.

"Usually, when Tahoe is full, we can make it for about three years even if we have dry years after that," he said.

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On the Net:

Natural Resources Conservation Service Web site: http://www.nv.nrcs.usda.gov/nvsnow.htm

National Weather Service Web site: http://nimbo.wrh.noaa.gov/reno