River levels across the state of Utah have been lower than usual for this time of year, but some rivers have started setting new records for their low levels.
As Utah heads into runoff season, which is very important as 95% of Utah water comes from snow, water experts are saying that this year’s results should be a bit better than last year’s but could still be worrisome.
Jordan Clayton, a specialist working with the USDA Snow Survey, says that Utah’s reservoir has been hurt by the bad drought seen this year and that everybody should be concerned about it. A real-time map released on Monday showed that many rivers across the state have hit record lows for the date of March 21, but these levels could change as the seasons change and as snow starts to melt.
Experts have agreed that this year’s runoff forecast is slightly more optimistic than the runoff seen last year, but there are still a few challenges as reservoirs are starting off lower this year meaning that some areas will struggle to build up water.
Laura Haskell with the Utah Division of Water Resources recommends that people should try to conserve water, which could save them money in the process. Haskell believes that using low-flow toilets and localscapes could use less water which would in-turn help with water restoration.
