OCR Text |
Show Measured Snow Reveals Wafer Content Is Low The water stored in the snow pack as measured near January 1st varied from 40 to 70 of average on most of the watersheds water-sheds of the state. The Soil Conservation Service has completed a snow survey on the Duchesne-Strawberry Rivers and reports snow water as being about 74 of what it was on Jan. 1, 1954, and about 50 of average. aver-age. No snow surveys were made on the Lakefork and Uinta River snow courses to date. Soil moisture is generally below average on the water-producing parts of the watersheds because of the dry summer and fall. Measurements Mea-surements at key gaging stations by the U. S. Geological Survey show that December ' stream flow was 80 of average. Both of these factors indicate additional withdrawals with-drawals from the water of the snow pack, further reducing the water supply prospects for the coming season. Most years about 35 to 40 of the total snow pack to be expected ex-pected has accumulated by the first of January. This leaves the major portion yet to come, so that the water supply prospects may change considerably, either up or down, as the winter's snow accumulates. However, if average water supplies are to be in prospect pros-pect by the time run-off begins in the spring, the snow pack increase in-crease will have to be 130 to 140 of average for the balance of the season. |