Sierra Snowpack Still Well Below Normal

ECHO SUMMIT (CBS13/AP) — California water managers say the Sierra Nevada snowpack is just 37 percent of normal for this time of year.

After last year's prolific powder, measurements taken Wednesday show the snowpack as thin as 3.6 inches near South Lake Tahoe. Measurements at the four locations DWR officials took were some of the lowest ever recorded.

The amount recorded statewide is 23 percent of what's normally measured on April 1, when the snowmelt begins.

"So far, we just haven't received a decent number of winter storms," said state Department of Water Resources Director Mark Cowin. "We have good reservoir storage thanks to wet conditions last year, but we also need more rain and snow this winter."

The DWR says reservoirs are still full from last spring's snowmelt, so the 29 agencies that depend on the state's system of aqueducts can expect 60 percent of the amount requested. The system supplies 25 million Californians.

Last year's record storms allowed the state to deliver 80 percent of the requests.