Golden Sun eXtra Your Local News Source, Mohave County, AZ

A team of hydrologists visited the project's watershed in eastern Arizona on 1/29 to measure the snowpack that melts in the spring and replenishes six reservoirs that provide water for Arizona. The hydrologists determined the snowpack is the deepest it's been in nearly two decades.

The recent rains and snow has left an average of 6.68 inches of precipitation across the state from north central Arizona to near the New Mexico border.

"I've been measuring snowpack for five years, and there is more snow on the watershed than I've ever seen," said James Walter, a meteorologist with SRP. "We haven't experienced conditions like this since the early 1990s."

SRP crews helicoptered into remote locations, including Workman Creek in the Sierra Ancha Wilderness, Hannagan Meadow in the White Mountains and Promontory on the Mogollon Rim.

Walter and SRP senior hydrologist Mark Hubble sampled snow levels using specially designed tubes to measure snow depth and water content at every stop.

"It's very important that we know the amount of moisture that is contained in the snow," Hubble said. "That information gives us an idea of how water is actually locked up in the snow and how much will come down into the reservoirs when the weather warms up."

Walter and Hubble found snowpack levels around 70 inches above 9,000 feet, with snow still present at elevations just below 5,000 feet.

SRP officials regularly check snow levels during the winter to develop seasonal runoff forecasts and flood-control planning.

The winter runoff season is measured from January through May. SRP's reservoir system is currently about 95 percent full.

Because melting snow accounts for as much as 80 percent of the water SRP stores in its lakes along the Salt and Verde rivers, a healthy snowpack means those reservoirs will likely be completely full when runoff season ends around the end of May.

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