Water's rising nicely in reservoirs

"Splendiferous," except for southeastern Utah.

That's how Randy Julander, data collection officer for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, describes Utah's reservoir storage this spring.

"Everything's ahead of last year," Julander said, except the Sevier River area.

Storage in 41 of Utah's key reservoirs averages 70 percent of capacity, up 9 percent from a year ago.

"This is very much an average year" for moisture he said, adding that only the recent dry years make it seem unusually wet.

Julander said the peak stream flows in northern Utah are still probably several weeks away and so prospects are looking good for water supplies this summer. All medium and small reservoirs should fill.

He described April, with its cool and wet conditions, as a fantastic month for water supplies in most parts of Utah.

Bear Lake is looking low again this year, though, sitting at just 26 percent of capacity as of May 1. He said one extraordinary year could fill the northern Utah/southern Idaho lake again, as anyone knows who can recall the mid-1980s.

"Sooner or later, we will have one of those years," he predicted.

Utah Lake is already at 101 percent of capacity; Deer Creek is 100 percent; Pineview is 85 percent; Jordanelle is 76 percent; and Lake Powell is running about 55 percent full.

Julander said Lake Powell is expected to rise 15 feet this year.

Is any flooding expected?

"If you get flooding in an average year like this, it's not the creek's fault," Julander said.

He said the job of water reservoir managers is like a game of chicken: They try to hold back all the water they can for as long as they can.

The Sevier River area in southeastern Utah is very low again and the peak flow season for runoff there is already over, he said. Sevier Bridge, the largest storage area for that system, is only at 48 percent of normal and will only go down from there.

Piute Reservoir is 59 percent full and Panguitch Lake is 76 percent.

Snowpacks as of May 1 were estimated to be at 99 percent of normal on the Bear River; 108 percent on the Weber River; 104 percent on the Provo River; 75 percent for the Uintas; and only 64 percent for southeast Utah.

Julander said southern Utah's snow is melting faster than normal, while the north's is slower than average. He said how the weather for May shapes up can still impact runoff conditions. A continued wet and cool pattern will maximize runoff, while dry and warm conditions will decrease yields.

Go to www.ut.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/watersupply for more information on Utah water storage and conditions.

E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com