by Diane Sagers

CORRESPONDENT

Some people are never satisfied. Last week many were griping about the nippy weather and if the forecasts are correct, those same folks may be griping about the heat very soon. The same holds true for other aspects of the weather.

For the past 10 years or so, we have worried and complained about the drought that hit with a vengeance. Nevertheless, when we get a winter like this past one with lots of snowfall, we complain about that, too. Shoveling snow is no one's favorite pastime, however, falling snow is good here because it provides a lag time between when we get the moisture and the time it is used.

We in the Tooele Valley are well aware that nowhere in the country is the winter mountain snowpack and the melted runoff of water that comes from it, more important than it is in the West. Snow that melts in the spring fills our reservoirs and holds us through the summer until more snowpack can accumulate the next fall.

April 1 is the unofficial end of the mountain snowpack season and it signals the runoff through this area. Snow measured for the analysis typically falls from November to March.

For the first time in a long time, the runoff potential looks good. According to the USDA National Resource Conservation Service, snowpack for our area is at about 107 percent of normal. The Settlement Canyon reservoir water level on April 1 was at 50 percent, which was lower than last year because the snow is melting slower. The water level at the reservoir in Grantsville is about the same, while Vernon Creek is already at 100 percent capacity according to the report.

The 2007-2008 snowpack season has provided about all we could have hoped for in the West.

The moisture that will arrive as the snow melts is earmarked already for many uses. The most obvious are agricultural, irrigation and municipal use. There are also uses in our area for recreational and industrial use and the ecological need to leave some water available for wildlife to survive.

And the multi-year drought prior to this season still demands its ransom. We still face the prospect of drought recovery before we can plan for water surpluses. Some of the runoff will disappear as it moistens dry soil on its way to the valley floor. Groundwater levels rise slowly as water seeps through the soil to the aquifers beneath, so water levels in wells will take considerable time to rise.

There are other unknown weather factors that also play into our water and water use outlook. If we get a long siege of blistering heat in the summer, it will drastically increase water demands. Hot, dry weather combined with winds could cause serious wildfires. The moisture received this spring stimulates heavy grass growth in pasture and rangeland areas. As the summer progresses, the grass finishes its cycle and dies. Dead grass makes excellent fuel for rampant wildfires. In some areas, trees are dead and dying from the recent drought. These, too will fuel fires if exposed to the wrong conditions.

What all this means is that in terms of water, things are better, but not perfect. We should be used to adapting to dry conditions by now. In any situation, water conservation and wise water use are always important in these valleys.

Most of us do tend to overuse water in our homes and to overwater our plants. They struggle against summer heat more because we fail to encourage them to adapt early in the season. Water your plants deeply enough to encourage deep rooting early in the season and let them dry out a bit between waterings, and they will respond better to lower water use later this summer.