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The Amount Of Snow Near Tahoe Could Be Good News For SoCal's Water Supply

By  Jessica P. Ogilvie
Published Feb 28, 2019 3:08 PM
A "chains required' sign on the road leading to the Montecito Sequoia Lodge in Kings Canyon National Park in California's Sierra Nevada (Photo by Joel Keeler/AP)
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The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada mountain range is up to a heartening 153 percent of average, according to a report by California's Department of Water Resources. In a measurement taken today, there were 113 inches of snow depth near Seirra-at-Tahoe.

The measurement provides valuable insight into water resources in the state -- Southern California gets approximately one-third of its water from the Sierra Nevadas. It's also a marked improvement from this time last year, when snow levels came in at around 13.5 inches, or 27 percent of the average following years of draught.

Water from the Sierra Nevadas is collected in SoCal after the flow from melted snow is channeled south on the 200-mile Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Sometimes that flow can pose a risk to homes, roads, or the aqueduct itself. When the snowpack clocked in at 174 percent of normal in February of 2017, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti responded by declaring an emergency over concerns about flooding and debris.

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