Water managers are now preparing for a “fourth dry year,” as well as more unpredictable weather and wildfires associated with climate change, DWR Assistant Deputy Director John Yarbrough said.
What’s more, the state’s other primary water supply — the Colorado River — is also running perilously low, with federal officials warning that another 150-foot drop in Lake Mead could lead to “dead pool” conditions, or the point at which water falls below the lowest intake valve on the Hoover Dam.
More than half of the Feather River Watershed — the largest in the Sierra Nevada — burned in wildfires between 2019 and 2021, Schwarz said. About a quarter of it burned at high intensity levels associated with significant tree mortality., including altered soil and vegetation. Schwarz said black carbon deposits from ash and burned trees can change the reflectivity of snow to make it melt faster, while high heat can make soil waxy, more water repellent and more prone to runoff.
That confluence of hazards means the state’s water managers are increasingly accounting for wildfires in their climate resilience efforts, Schwarz said, including improving water safety plans for local residents and implementing new sensor data to help experts monitor changing hydrology. Commissioner Alexandre Makler said the reports underscored the need for continued maintenance and asset management on the State Water Project.
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