April 9, 2001-- Reported by News Specialist Stacey Butler
"This is the worst year I've encountered in 18 years," says Nick Sefakis of the Salt Lake Metro Water District.
When it comes to water supply, we are in worse shape than we were back in March. That was one of the driest months on record.
All the rain and snow we've had has helped, but you may be surprised at how little.
"We definitely need a strong conservation ethic, or we're not going to make it," Sefakis predicts.
A sobering warning, but one that water authorities across the state emphasized today during a meeting to find out just how low our water tables are.
"Our averages right now are diving like a rock."
The statement caught even local Water District G.M.'s off guard.
Keith Denos of the Provo River Water Association says, "I know for the Provo River drainage the forecast was very low, about 50% of normal for the year. I was hoping that with these latest storms we could have seen that increase substantially."
Most Utahns believe, too, that last week's storms would have done some good. But the reality is, our water levels around the state are still at the lowest they've been in four decades.
"In terms of where you were on March 1, we didn't add a whole lot of snow out of this last storm," says Snow Survey Supervisor Randy Julander. "We'll take everything we can get, but it in no way solved everybody's water problem for them."
Surface water in Bear, Weber and Ogden is more than 85% below average.
Provo is about 70% below normal.
Those rivers needed 200% to 300% of average snowpack increase this year just to reach normal levels.
"Not only didn't we get it," Julander says, "But on the Bear, we actually lost for the first time in 40 years."
Spring storms could do some good yet, but the snowpack is already melting fast, even in the upper elevations. Unless we have a consistently wet and cold Spring, by mid-May water authorities expect to lose it all to runoff.
"When those flows die off and you've got outflows going out and no inflows going in, your reservoirs are going to drop like a stone."
Terel Grimley of the Ogden River Water Association says, "It's going to be a challenging year for everyone, I believe."
