Storms fill water reserves in Nevada
FALLON -- The summer water outlook for residents and farmers in Nevada is bright after winter and spring storms delivered unusually heavy snow to the region.
Many farmers around Fallon can expect a 100 percent allotment for the irrigation season with the help of a 30 percent increase in storage at Lahontan Reservoir from last year, the Lahontan Valley News of Fallon reported.
The recent storage level at the Fallon-area reservoir on the Carson River was 161,400 acre-feet.
Dan Greenlee, a water supply specialist for the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, released a report that states the season-ending snowpack, along with river and stream flows, will be average to above-average for much of the state.
Even the Humboldt District, which has been hit hard by drought the past few years, has seen a comeback. Storage at Rye Patch Reservoir in the Lower Humboldt River Basin is up 23 percent over last year -- from 15,800 acre-feet last year to 39,300 acre-feet this year.
The snowpack in the Lake Tahoe Basin is at 176 percent of average for the date thanks to a series of powerful late-season storms.
Alpine Meadows ski resort just north of Tahoe on Sunday reported its snowiest month of March since it began keeping records in 1970-71.
A total of 201 inches at its base lodge for the month surpasses the previous March record of 197 inches at the lodge set in 2006.
