SRP measures snowpack in the Verde River watershed to calculate expected water production

PHOENIX — February’s snowstorm in Arizona’s high country hopes to produce ample snowmelt runoff for the watersheds.

Salt River Project was out on the Verde River watershed in Happy Jack on Feb. 23, to measure the snowpack and calculate how much water it will produce.

“It’s a long tube that we put in the snow. We can measure the depth, then we can take that out and weigh it and see how much mass there is and figure out based on the density of that snow how much there is,” SRP Senior Hydrologist Stephen Flora told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

This is called measuring the snow water equivalent or SWE. Flora explained that new fluffy snow has less water than a dense snowpack with more depth.

SRP measured about ten inches of snow depth that was roughly 20% dense, which equates to an average of two inches of SWE or water across the area when it melts.

“It was actively melting when we got there because this week temperatures have really increased, so it’s melting very quickly,” Flora said.

SRP plans ahead for years where watershed receives less snowpack runoff

Flora is hoping for one more big snowstorm to bolster the watershed for the dry season, but the forecast doesn’t look promising.

“We’ve been in a long-term drought for the last 25+ years, but that doesn’t mean every year is dry. We’ve had several wet years,” Flora said.

SRP plans for dry years to ensure a sustainable water supply to the Valley. Runoff is expected to be slightly below normal this year as the snowpack is only 50% of the median.

The good news is fall rain has helped to keep the soil saturated so as the snowpack melts a lot of the water will runoff instead of being absorbed by the dry ground.

SRP hydrologists conducted an identical snowpack survey on the Salt River watershed near the White Mountains in northeastern Arizona on the same day.

“The Salt watershed is a little, even slightly below what the Verde is seeing, so we saw lesser amounts across the Salt watershed,” Flora said.

Flora reminded customers to do their part to conserve water whenever they can as SRP continues to monitor the precious resource and deliver water to 2.5 million Valley residents.

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