Flooding has been a main topic of conversation among Utahns lately, but snowmelt runoff is a whole different beast in northern Utah compared to the southern section of the state.
With all of that in mind, it may come as a surprise to hear that the top half of the Beehive State isn't even leading the state when it comes to snowpack runoff.Snow water equivalent levels — the equivalent water depth if the snowpack was melted down — range from 198% higher there than median levels all the way up to 379% higher, according to
"When we think about the principal stream that drains into Cedar City, which is Coal Creek, most of the water that comes out ... is from snowmelt," Mueller said. "Alternatively, the biggest floods are from monsoon thunderstorms in July, August, September." This is the case for a few reasons. A primary one is that much of the population along the Wasatch Front is situated closer to the snowpack than, say, Cedar City."Up north ... you've got snow down to lower elevations, you've got narrow canyons with a lot of snowpack that sort of empty out right into subdivisions and communities," Mueller said. "In Cedar City, the creek could handle a much larger flood than is likely to be generated by the snowmelt.
"The last two winters were really low snow years and we definitely need this water to replenish our water supply," he continued. "In Cedar City, we're actually in a closed basin, meaning that Coal Creek doesn't flow anywhere, it just flows into the basin here in Cedar Valley and essentially melts into the ground."
The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center recently forecast that runoffs will be 177% of the average by Lake Powell. If the forecast is right, the reservoir,would receive about 11.3 million acre-feet worth of water.
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