Sierra snowpack conditions within the Kings River watershed are a fraction of total snow depths and water contents that existed one year ago. Those were findings of this season’s first
Residents of Kings and Fresno counties who attended a town hall meeting this week were told by officials that water release rates into the Kings River will likely stay approximately
CENTRAL VALLEY â Dry conditions that have prevailed in the Sierra Nevada and the San Joaquin Valley since fall have sliced into the Kings Riverâs runoff outlooks for this springâs annual snowmelt period, April-through-July. A gloomy annual total can be expected when Water Year 2020-21 concludes in September.
Kings River Watermaster Steve Haugen reports the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) estimates the riverâs natural runoff during the peak April-through-July period will be only 400,000 acre-feet, just 33% of average. Even worse, if Kings River watershed precipitation falls short of average during these four months, the April-July total could be even lower.