Salt Lake City's Snowpack Improves

Water Content is above normal on January 15

January 15, 2008

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View of snowpack in Parley’s Canyon.
Last year at this time the Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) was well below normal in the mountain watersheds that supply water to Salt Lake City service area customers; however this year despite a late start, the SWE is above normal in the Wasatch Canyons east of Salt Lake City. Nearly 60 percent of the City's water supply comes from these canyon watersheds.

The City also relies on stored water supplies on the Provo River in Jordanelle and Deer Creek reservoirs. The snowpack in this watershed is not as promising. The Trial Lake measurement is only 77 percent of normal. Currently Jordanelle reservoir is 73 percent full and Deer Creek reservoir 43 percent full. Deer Creek has been lowered in order for the Bureau of Reclamation to make repairs to the dam at the right abutment and overflow structure. 

Based on the current building snowpack, Public Utilities managers are hopeful that there will be an adequate water supply for the coming year.

According to the Colorado River Forecast Center, the state's total snowpack is 115 percent of normal; and according to the U. S. Drought Monitor on January 8,  the west desert is under extreme drought conditions and the remaining part of the state is experiencing moderate drought conditions.  

A summary of key watershed snowpack measurements is as follows:

  • Lookout Peak snowpack measured an SWE of 13.4 inches of water, which is 108 percent of normal. This measurement is used to indicate the potential run-off from the headwaters of City Creek and Dell Fork of Parleys Canyon
  • Louis Meadows in City Creek Canyon is 12.9 inches, which is 159 percent higher than the SWE last year at this time
  • Parley's Summit measured 9.7 inches of water, which is 107 percent of normal and 151 percent higher than last year's 6.4 inches of water. Run-off from Dell Fork and Parley's creeks are stored in Little Dell and Mountain Dell reservoirs
  • Mill Creek is 102 percent of normal with an SWE of 13.0 inches
  • Brighton's SWE measured 15.1 inches, which is 114 percent of normal and 172 percent higher than last year at this time
  • Snowbird's SWE is 142 percent of normal with 22.9 inches of water. This is more than double the measurement taken last year at this time of 10.3 inches.
  • The Trial Lake snow course is only 77 percent of normal. The average is 12.8 inches of water and on January 15 it measured 9.8 inches.  Last year at this time there was only 5.6 inches