State Water Board: warm winter, low statewide snowpack but reporting compliance near last year
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Summary
The State Water Resources Control Board received a water-rights division update showing above-average precipitation in parts of the state and improved reservoir levels, but statewide April 1 snowpack remained well below average; the board was also told roughly 25,000 CalWaters reports (about 60% compliance) were submitted under the new system.
The State Water Resources Control Board on March 3 heard a hydrology update from Jessica Bean of the Division of Water Rights that showed a mixed picture for California’s water year.
Bean said precipitation has been uneven: parts of the southern state have seen above-average accumulations while much of the Sierra snowpack remains low. “As of March 1, we are looking at about 41.2 inches and that is 113% of average for March 1,” Bean said, then added that statewide April 1 snowpack was still only about 57% of average, up from 36% a month earlier.
The presentation tracked regional precipitation indices: the Northern Sierra precipitation index was about 113% of average for March 1, the San Joaquin index about 105%, and the Tulare Basin index about 109%. Despite higher precipitation in some late-winter storms, Bean warned that snowpack and water‑supply outlooks remain below historic April 1 averages in many areas.
Bean also reported on water-rights reporting under CalWaters, the board’s new online reporting system. “We’ve had approximately 25,000 reports submitted this year, which is 60% compliance,” she said, a figure staff said is close to last year’s pace for this point in the season and an improvement over 2021 when a major reporting change reduced submissions.
Board members asked for follow-up on Bay-Delta flows and on a mid‑spring check‑in with project operators to clarify how recent storms affected obligations under earlier water-rights decisions. Chair Joaquin Esquivel suggested inviting project operators back to discuss what the system actually did in response to recent storms.
The update is informational; no board action was taken. Staff said they will provide deeper Bay‑Delta flow detail and a potential operator briefing in a future session.
