Amador County – California Department of Water Resources’ Feb. 1 snow survey indicated 60 percent of the state’s 25 million water customers will be served by current snowpack levels, while Amador Water Agency’s general manager said much of the AWA’s customers will be in good shape, even with a multi-year drought.

The state’s second snow survey of the season said statewide snowpack water content is 37 percent of normal for Feb. 1 and 23 percent of normal for April 1, the traditional high point date.

AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said estimates point toward “a potential drought year.” He said Amador Water System has one of the earliest water rights on the Mokelumne River “and therefore those customers would have very little if any affects from a drought as first in time receive their allocations first.”

AWA would “be able to meet normal water demands for all the cities and others who are served by the AWS under all historical record events.”

Conversely, Camanche and La Mel Heights customers “rely on groundwater in their immediate pumping zone,” he said, and it is “difficult to predict, but we know that under severe droughts such as in 1976-1977, many wells suffered loss of quantity and quality.” Mancebo said that was the reason for creating the Central Amador Water Project service area, and its pipeline and pumps.

CAWP’s “water right priority is post Pardee and pre-Camanche reservoir-associated water rights,” he said. “Through agreements with PG&E, the AWA stores up to 1,600 acre-feet annually.” As a result, “the first year of a drought would have little impact on CAWP customers as storage could be used; however in multiple-year droughts the stored water may be used and if not replenished, a shortfall could be experienced.” He said “there would need to be a drought similar to 1976-1977 to have a significant impact on CAWP customers.”

DWR Information Officer Elizabeth Scott said Department of Water Resources’ “initial estimate is that the State Water Project will be able to deliver 60 percent of the slightly more than 4 million acre-feet of water requested this calendar year by the 29 public agencies,” which supply water to “more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland.”

The delivery estimate is largely based on the known quantity of carryover reservoir storage. Scott said the “unknown is how much rain and snow the state will get the rest of this winter,” and “DWR may adjust the State Water Project delivery estimate to reflect changing hydrologic conditions.”

She said 2011 illustrates “how weather-driven supply conditions can dramatically change.” Initially, SWP estimated 25 percent delivery of the 4 million acre-feet requested, but “as winter took hold, a near-record snowpack and heavy rains resulted in deliveries of 80 percent of requests in 2011.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.