Snowpack Totals Down Across Sierra Nevada

Sacramento, Ca -- The Department of Water Resources final snow survey of 2008 shows that the snowpack total in the Sierra Nevada is 67 percent of normal for this time of year.

This is a sharp contrast from just one month ago, when the snowpack total was just under 100 percent of normal. D.W.R. Information Officer Ted Thomas says that combined with dry conditions over the past month, much of the water is being absorbed quickly by the parched soil as a result of last year's dry weather.

“The findings are not encouraging,” says Thomas. “We're not getting the runoff that we would normally expect because the soil is absorbing the water like a dry sponge.”

Thomas says the findings are proof that the state needs to take steps to add more surface and groundwater storage, promote conservation and invest to improve the state's aging infrastructure.

Written by bjhansen@mlode.com

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