03-10-2005, 06:45 PM
Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 12:00 AM [url "http://www.harktheherald.com/print.php?sid=49869"]![[Image: print.gif]](http://www.harktheherald.com/images/global/print.gif)
[/url] | [url "http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Recommend_Us&file=index&req=FriendSend&sid=49869"]![[Image: friend.gif]](http://www.harktheherald.com/images/global/friend.gif)
[/url]
Water conservation still critical, experts advise
Caleb Warnock DAILY HERALD
The drought is not over, water supplies are still in jeopardy and conservation is evermore important.
That is the message from state and local water experts, who say reservoirs in Utah County will not be full this year, despite increased snow levels.
"I'd stop way short of saying the drought is over," said Merrill Bingham, Provo public works director. [url "http://heraldextra.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=display_ads&file=index&func=display_ad&ad=00153924"][/url]![[Image: adlog.php?bannerid=208&clientid=192&...87e616ab9b]](http://adserver.harktheherald.com/adlog.php?bannerid=208&clientid=192&zoneid=27&source=&block=0&capping=0&cb=6782e5680e0d052477679c87e616ab9b)
[url "http://adserver.harktheherald.com/adclick.php?n=a1d19a67"]![[Image: adview.php?what=zone:27&n=a1d19a67]](http://adserver.harktheherald.com/adview.php?what=zone:27&n=a1d19a67)
[/url]
Forecasters are predicting that run-off from mountain snowpacks will be above normal, but the latest dry spell has reduced snowpacks, he said.
"We get into pretty good shape and then go two or three months with little precipitation and pretty soon we are below normal," he said. "We need to build a snowpack up there through the third week of April and we've gone a month or six weeks
without precipitation."
Deer Creek Reservoir is now higher than it was at any point last year -- but those levels are deceptive, said Keith Denos, general manager of the Provo River Water Users Association. Deer Creek water is used by many cities of north Utah County, Salt Lake County and other counties, as well as agricultural users.
Managers have an agreement to let federal agencies store water in the reservoir when it is low, he said. That water makes it look like there is more water available than there is.
"From the Provo River Water Users Association standpoint, we are not doing much better than last year, unfortunately," he said. "We just don't have very much water in there, even though you see the reservoir coming up."
Water owners received only 50 percent of their allotments last year because water levels were so low, he said. This year they could get between 75 to 80 percent, if there are more snowstorms over the next few weeks, but 100 percent will be all but impossible.
"We have no carry over," he said. "When we started this water year in November, we had zero toward this year's allotment."
Utah Lake is at least 4 feet low, and because Utah Lake users have first right to the water in Deer Creek, that could force Deer Creek owners to rely solely on water flows from the Weber and Duchesne rivers, he said.
"If Utah Lake doesn't reach the conversion line, which means the primary right holders are satisfied, then any water we store can be called down to satisfy those rights," he said.
All Deer Creek owners have other sources of water to turn to, but agricultural users will face the most stringent water shortages, he said.
"It probably impacts even what they plant for the year," he said. "The worst thing that can happen is they plant a crop and run out of water in August."
Even if the state had record amounts of water, conservation would still be necessary, said Molly Waters, water conservation coordinator with the Utah Division of Water Resources.
"The need to conserve is in no way related to the drought," she said. "Basically we need to conserve because of our population growth."
State planners are depending on conservation to provide water for Utah's exploding population in decades to come, she said.
"The largest portion of our future water is going to come from conservation because all the resources that are left are very expensive to develop or environmentally contentious," she said.
Waters said she recently stopped at a fast food place where water-wise landscaping including cacti had been completely encased in ice because of early watering. A reporter spotted a business along Interstate 15 in Utah County sprinkling its lawns on Wednesday afternoon.
"There is absolutely no reason to be watering right now," Waters said. "We'll get well into May or even June without needing to water."
Reservoirs will take several years to fill even if the drought ends, she said.
"But even then the need to conserve extends far beyond that," she said. "We can make it if everybody does their part."
The worst thing that could happen is that people begin to conserve less because they believe there is extra water available, she said.
"Don't let the rain fool you," she said. "It is not about the rain -- that is the No. 1 message we need to drive home because there is a large fear that as soon as we get into a wet cycle, people will lose their enthusiasm for conservation."
Critics have said Provo's low water rates encourage people to waste water, Bingham said.
"There are those who believe the rates play a more important role than I believe they do, and we have a responsibility to deliver water at as low a cost as possible," he said. "On the other hand, we try to educate people about conservation. One area I think we can get into more is schools, teaching up-and-coming generations about water conservation, and we'll do that."
[i] Caleb Warnock can be reached at 344-2543 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.[/i]
Weather forecast
Weatherwise, March has begun to act a lot like March 2004, said David James, BYU weather station overseer.
"Last March was unusually warm, dry and windy, which contributed heavily to the demise of the snowpack very early," he said. "Provo's temperatures soared into the 70s and 80s on several occasions, while the mountains areas had days in the 50s and 60s. We don't want to do that this year."
This year, warm dry weather has prevailed across Utah County since Feb. 21, he said.
"Wednesday was the warmest day so far this year, as valley highs climbed into the upper 60s," he said.
The average high for this time of year is in the mid 50s, he said. The record highs for this time of year are in the upper 70s.
"Even Sundance at the 7,500-foot elevation reached 50 degrees on Wednesday," he said.
The one advantage this year over last year is that the soils beneath this year's snowpack are saturated, he said.
"Last year, the soils were very dry so when the mountain snow melted, a lot of the water went into the thirsty soils," he said. "Last year's monsoonal rains in summer helped to keep the high country fairly moist into the fall and then the rains in October also helped to saturate the soils. Ideally, we don't want to have the snow begin melting until April.
"We'd rather have more storms this month and keep adding to the snowpack rather than have it begin melting. There is hope. The National Climate Prediction Center has projected that above-normal precipitation will fall in the area between the 15th and 23rd of this month."
A cold front is expected to move through Utah Valley on Saturday night, dropping high temperatures into the 50s on Sunday and down into the 40s on Monday, he said.
Little if any precipitation is forecasted by the National Weather Service over most of Utah as a result of this cold front, he said. Conditions are expected to remain dry through next week.
As of Wednesday, the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Water and Climate Center reported 33.4 inches of water in the snowpack at Timpanogos Divide, which is 156 percent of the normal of 21.4 inches, he said.
Trial Lake, which feeds the Provo River drainage, reported 25.7 inches of water in the snow, which is 117 percent of the normal of 22 inches. Thanyne's Canyon, which is south of Park City, showed 33.3 inches of water in the snow, which is 159 percent of the normal of 21 inches for this time of year.
The Payson Ranger Station has only 15 inches of water in the snow, which is only 83 percent of the normal of 18.1 inches, he said. The Daniels-Strawberry Reservoir area has 20 inches of water in the snow, which is 130 percent of the normal of 15.4 inches. This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.
[signature]
[/url] | [url "http://www.harktheherald.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Recommend_Us&file=index&req=FriendSend&sid=49869"][/url]Water conservation still critical, experts advise
Caleb Warnock DAILY HERALD
The drought is not over, water supplies are still in jeopardy and conservation is evermore important.
That is the message from state and local water experts, who say reservoirs in Utah County will not be full this year, despite increased snow levels.
"I'd stop way short of saying the drought is over," said Merrill Bingham, Provo public works director. [url "http://heraldextra.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=display_ads&file=index&func=display_ad&ad=00153924"][/url]
Forecasters are predicting that run-off from mountain snowpacks will be above normal, but the latest dry spell has reduced snowpacks, he said.
"We get into pretty good shape and then go two or three months with little precipitation and pretty soon we are below normal," he said. "We need to build a snowpack up there through the third week of April and we've gone a month or six weeks
without precipitation."
Deer Creek Reservoir is now higher than it was at any point last year -- but those levels are deceptive, said Keith Denos, general manager of the Provo River Water Users Association. Deer Creek water is used by many cities of north Utah County, Salt Lake County and other counties, as well as agricultural users.
Managers have an agreement to let federal agencies store water in the reservoir when it is low, he said. That water makes it look like there is more water available than there is.
"From the Provo River Water Users Association standpoint, we are not doing much better than last year, unfortunately," he said. "We just don't have very much water in there, even though you see the reservoir coming up."
Water owners received only 50 percent of their allotments last year because water levels were so low, he said. This year they could get between 75 to 80 percent, if there are more snowstorms over the next few weeks, but 100 percent will be all but impossible.
"We have no carry over," he said. "When we started this water year in November, we had zero toward this year's allotment."
Utah Lake is at least 4 feet low, and because Utah Lake users have first right to the water in Deer Creek, that could force Deer Creek owners to rely solely on water flows from the Weber and Duchesne rivers, he said.
"If Utah Lake doesn't reach the conversion line, which means the primary right holders are satisfied, then any water we store can be called down to satisfy those rights," he said.
All Deer Creek owners have other sources of water to turn to, but agricultural users will face the most stringent water shortages, he said.
"It probably impacts even what they plant for the year," he said. "The worst thing that can happen is they plant a crop and run out of water in August."
Even if the state had record amounts of water, conservation would still be necessary, said Molly Waters, water conservation coordinator with the Utah Division of Water Resources.
"The need to conserve is in no way related to the drought," she said. "Basically we need to conserve because of our population growth."
State planners are depending on conservation to provide water for Utah's exploding population in decades to come, she said.
"The largest portion of our future water is going to come from conservation because all the resources that are left are very expensive to develop or environmentally contentious," she said.
Waters said she recently stopped at a fast food place where water-wise landscaping including cacti had been completely encased in ice because of early watering. A reporter spotted a business along Interstate 15 in Utah County sprinkling its lawns on Wednesday afternoon.
"There is absolutely no reason to be watering right now," Waters said. "We'll get well into May or even June without needing to water."
Reservoirs will take several years to fill even if the drought ends, she said.
"But even then the need to conserve extends far beyond that," she said. "We can make it if everybody does their part."
The worst thing that could happen is that people begin to conserve less because they believe there is extra water available, she said.
"Don't let the rain fool you," she said. "It is not about the rain -- that is the No. 1 message we need to drive home because there is a large fear that as soon as we get into a wet cycle, people will lose their enthusiasm for conservation."
Critics have said Provo's low water rates encourage people to waste water, Bingham said.
"There are those who believe the rates play a more important role than I believe they do, and we have a responsibility to deliver water at as low a cost as possible," he said. "On the other hand, we try to educate people about conservation. One area I think we can get into more is schools, teaching up-and-coming generations about water conservation, and we'll do that."
[i] Caleb Warnock can be reached at 344-2543 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.[/i]
Weather forecast
Weatherwise, March has begun to act a lot like March 2004, said David James, BYU weather station overseer.
"Last March was unusually warm, dry and windy, which contributed heavily to the demise of the snowpack very early," he said. "Provo's temperatures soared into the 70s and 80s on several occasions, while the mountains areas had days in the 50s and 60s. We don't want to do that this year."
This year, warm dry weather has prevailed across Utah County since Feb. 21, he said.
"Wednesday was the warmest day so far this year, as valley highs climbed into the upper 60s," he said.
The average high for this time of year is in the mid 50s, he said. The record highs for this time of year are in the upper 70s.
"Even Sundance at the 7,500-foot elevation reached 50 degrees on Wednesday," he said.
The one advantage this year over last year is that the soils beneath this year's snowpack are saturated, he said.
"Last year, the soils were very dry so when the mountain snow melted, a lot of the water went into the thirsty soils," he said. "Last year's monsoonal rains in summer helped to keep the high country fairly moist into the fall and then the rains in October also helped to saturate the soils. Ideally, we don't want to have the snow begin melting until April.
"We'd rather have more storms this month and keep adding to the snowpack rather than have it begin melting. There is hope. The National Climate Prediction Center has projected that above-normal precipitation will fall in the area between the 15th and 23rd of this month."
A cold front is expected to move through Utah Valley on Saturday night, dropping high temperatures into the 50s on Sunday and down into the 40s on Monday, he said.
Little if any precipitation is forecasted by the National Weather Service over most of Utah as a result of this cold front, he said. Conditions are expected to remain dry through next week.
As of Wednesday, the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Water and Climate Center reported 33.4 inches of water in the snowpack at Timpanogos Divide, which is 156 percent of the normal of 21.4 inches, he said.
Trial Lake, which feeds the Provo River drainage, reported 25.7 inches of water in the snow, which is 117 percent of the normal of 22 inches. Thanyne's Canyon, which is south of Park City, showed 33.3 inches of water in the snow, which is 159 percent of the normal of 21 inches for this time of year.
The Payson Ranger Station has only 15 inches of water in the snow, which is only 83 percent of the normal of 18.1 inches, he said. The Daniels-Strawberry Reservoir area has 20 inches of water in the snow, which is 130 percent of the normal of 15.4 inches. This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.
[signature]
]?