In anticipation of storms forecasted for this week, DWR conducted its April 1 in-person snow survey slightly ahead of schedule this year, on March 28. At Phillips Station, about 10 miles south of Lake Tahoe, DWR’s Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Unit recorded 39.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 17 inches, which is 70% of average at this location. Although California’s snowpack is now up to near normal at 90%, much of Southern California remains exceptionally dry and below average for rainfall. But thanks to efforts to capture as much water as possible from this year’s storms, reservoirs across the state are currently 115% of average. More information about this most recent snow survey is provided on DWR’s website. For information about California’s current hydrological conditions, visit California Water Watch.

Thanks to a series of storms throughout March, the State Water Project (SWP) allocation forecast for this year has increased to 40% of requested water supplies, up from 35% last month. The recent storms allowed the SWP to increase storage this month at its largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, and nearly fill the SWP’s share of storage at San Luis Reservoir in Merced County. Lake Oroville storage is now up to 86 percent of capacity and 121 percent of historical average for this time of year. The increased storage also will provide some water supply next year in the event that dry conditions return. The SWP provides water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. DWR’s website explains the SWP allocation process in detail. The allocation forecast notice to state water contractors and historical data on SWP allocations are available on DWR’s SWP Water Contractors webpage.

The latest e-newsletter from the California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force offers a visual, editorial-style overview of Task Force progress and includes nearly a dozen informative articles, including the Task Force’s 25 highest priority actions underway for 2025 and its full monthly update provided to the governor.

The next Data Forum Speaker Series will feature Caleb McCallister, who leads the California Department of Transportation’s (Caltrans’) Enterprise Data and Geospatial Governance Program. Mr. McCallister will present “Data Governance Challenges and Solutions at Caltrans.” Among the many topics to be covered, the discussion will explain how Caltrans has approached the kinds of data management challenges currently faced by DWR. This in-person event will be at the CRNA building (Kiku Room, Room 6-400) in Sacramento on Tuesday, April 8, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Participants may also join via Microsoft Teams (Meeting ID: 267 239 291 998. Passcode: 8sLeyR).

Reminder: Early bird registration for the 31st annual California Water and Environmental Modeling Forum (CWEMF) closes on Friday, April 18. This year’s event is in Folsom, and the keynote speaker is Dr. Peter Goodwin. Dr. Goodwin is a professor and the president of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and is an internationally recognized expert in ecosystem restoration, ecohydraulics, and enhancement of river, wetland, and estuarine systems. The meeting program is available online, and more information about this event is available on the CWEMF website.