Spring is approaching on the West Coast and we all know what this means: watering season! Time to check your sprinkler systems for leaks, read and record meters, and make sure your system is ready for spring irrigation.
Though forecasts were set for an “El Niño” winter on the West Coast, projections from the March Nevada Water Supply Outlook Report, issued yearly by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, suggest that the 2016 water year is not yet the end of Nevada’s drought. Currently, (as of March 1, 2016) the Bridgeport Reservoir on the East Walker River is at 24.4 percent full, while the Topaz Reservoir on the West Walker River is at about 28.6 percent full. Despite the two reservoirs having about twice as much water as they did at this time last year, streamflow numbers as of April 1 will calculate the upcoming curtailment order on groundwater rights issued by the Nevada State Engineer’s Office.
After several years of drought, the influx of melting snow pack will provide some relief for Nevada residents, but mindfulness is going to be key. In Pershing County, the newly improved Rye Patch Reservoir is set to provide water to Lovelock Valley farmers but the county’s water conservation district manager recommends the 2016 irrigation season be postponed. After consecutive years of drought, the dry ground in irrigation ditches and canals will absorb much of the water initially released from the reservoir, until at least another 10-12,000 acre-feet of water are available for use.
Ranchers in Northern Nevada are facing designations proposed by state water officials last week that order groundwater well metering, meaning more monitoring, regulation, and study of the Humboldt River Basin’s limited resources. As orders such as these become more common, residents can do their part by monitoring individual irrigation systems and meters.
