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State pilots Airborne Snow Observatory project to test higher-resolution snow maps for Weber River operations
Summary
The Division of Water Resources described a multi-year Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) project covering roughly 870 square miles of the Weber River watershed to test whether aircraft-based lidar and imaging spectrometry can improve runoff estimates and reservoir operations.
Scott McGettigan, water optimization section manager for the Utah Division of Water Resources, briefed the Utah Board of Water Resources on a new Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) effort called “Wings Over Weber.”
McGettigan said the ASO approach uses airborne lidar and an imaging spectrometer to measure snow-depth and snow-water-equivalent at high spatial resolution across entire watersheds. “From 23,000 feet flying over, we can measure the snow depth to within about 2 and a half inches,” he said, describing the technology and its origin at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its commercial operator, ASO Inc.
The Wings Over Weber project covers about 870 square miles of the Weber River drainage and was submitted for a Bureau of Reclamation grant with a 50–50 cost share. McGettigan said the project’s immediate objective is to test how ASO data can improve reservoir and runoff operations for Echo, East Canyon and Rockport reservoirs and to compare ASO outputs against existing SNOTEL and stream-gauge data.
He told the board that the project timeline runs through 2027; a planned snow-free baseline flight was not completed in the previous season, so this year’s snow-on flights will provide a retrospective dataset, while subsequent years (spring 2026 and 2027) are intended to give near-real-time operational information.
Board members questioned cost-effectiveness and timing. McGettigan said the agency will evaluate value against cost, that there are per-project fixed costs (including the initial snow-free flight) and that multiple flights in a season improve chances of capturing the seasonal peak but increase costs.
McGettigan also noted another ASO project led by the Colorado River Authority in the Uinta headwaters, and said Utah’s ASO work will include elevation-band and aspect analyses to show how snow distribution varies by elevation and slope — data that could help refine reservoir operations and forecasts.
Ending: The board received the briefing for information; staff said it will return with results after the next flights and will assess whether ASO should be used more broadly in Utah water management.
