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Show I J ,-r-r fli ij ..... ' 1 J LcRV'Bl0DGETr I ,.u "Close the HI les Annie, there's a I aC in them thar .115." I ACCORDING to one AflD Basin Water Conser-'nSrict Conser-'nSrict official, the g all anyne can ijnrt,at Wasatch Front in any danger of flooding, mind you, but some precautionary measures are being taken to control the potential po-tential runoff into the upper reservoirs. GRANT SALTER, superintendent superin-tendent of irrigation water for the district, and one who keeps pretty close tabs on reservoir content and potential poten-tial runoff, said the water outlook for 1979 is "just as good as you would ever want to see it." He said the forecast is "very good" with nearly all of the measuring stations reporting upwards of 100 inches of snow and water content up to 45 inches. IT'S THE latter figures (water content) that really count. That's what determines deter-mines the spring runoff into the storage reservoirs. For areas serving Weber Basin, water content as of April 1 measures up to 133 percent of normal. Eight of the 12 reporting stations have more than 100 percent of normal nor-mal while the remaining four have from 85 to 98 percent of normal. MR. SALTER said Weber Basin will begin filling its main distribution lines next Sunday (April 15) and water should be available in most Davis County communities, a few days later. He noted, however, that inclement weather just before the scheduled turn on date may delay delivery of water a few days. Regardless, pressure pres-sure irrigation water should be at the doorstep of most county residents and farmers by April 20 or before. ' THE DISTRICT is prepared to distribute 114,148 acre feet of water (both culinary and irrigation) through the 1979 water season. Of this amount, . 73,653 acre-feet are ear- marked for pressure irrigation irriga-tion useage and about 30,943 acre-feet will be used for culinary and municipal purposes. pur-poses. "The difference in these figures and the total amount is what is expected for evaporation, seepage and other loss during delivery," Mr. Salter explained. BACK TO the water report. Ben Lomond Peak has the most water content, 45.4 inches-or 133 percent of normal. nor-mal. Farmington Canyon has 35.2 inches of precipitation, 114 percent of average. DRY BREAD Pond reports 22 inches; Monte Cristo, 26.2 inches; Horse Ridge, 24 inches; Chalk Creek One, 19 inches; Chalk Creek Two, 13.3 inches; Parley's Summit, 17.8 inches', Hayden Fork, 17.3 inches; and Smith-Morehouse, Smith-Morehouse, 12.6 inches. Mr. Salter added that water users last year were "very conservative" and because of that there is "more than average" water remaining in the reservoirs prior to spring runoff. "WE ARE releasing water from most reservoirs almost daily to maintain a level of flow and as a precaution to flooding," he said. "Water being released ranges from 80 acre-feet in Causey Dam to 1,000 acre-feet a day in Willard Bay." He explained that Willard Bay has a steady rotation of water with about 1,000 acre-feet acre-feet being added for each 1,000 acre-feet released. RELEASE OF water from other reservoirs is determined deter-mined by the amount of water forecast for the spring runoff. 1 Pineview Reservoir, for example, fifas about 60,000 acre-feet in storage, but, the runoff that flows from the mountains into the reservoir is predicted to be 100 to 115,000 acre-feet. "THIS MEANS that we have to continually release water from the reservoir so that it will fill at the peak of the runoff and no excessive amount of water will have to be released at any one time," said Mr, Salter. He explained that conser-' vation by water users last year, apparently a carryover from the year before when there was a serious drought, was the major factor for a carryover of storage water at the close of the irrigation season. SO UNLESS the snow never melts, Wasatch Front communities com-munities should have plenty of water to drink, wash their cars and make the gardens grow. |
