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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Emergency services, Oct. 16 ... Since You Asked: Park resurfacing delayed during winter ... SOU training gives tips on what to do if there's an active shooter ... Emergency services, Oct. 16 ... Since You Asked: Park resurfacing delayed during winter ... SOU training gives tips on what to do if there's an active shooter ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Ample water? Think again Comment By Robert Coffan MailTribune.com By Robert Coffan Posted May. 13, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Robert Coffan Posted May. 13, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Social News Ample water? As a Medford citizen and business owner, the front-page photo and headlines in Saturday’s paper about having ample water while much of the West is plagued with drought looked real comfy and I wanted to go turn my hose on too. But as a hydrologist, I came unglued. As of May 5, the total precipitation that has fallen in the Rogue Basin was 87 percent of normal. So what’s all this talk about drought? Thank goodness we don’t live in California, right? You want to see a drought, just go there. They’re warning you now on the highway road signs. Well, that’s not all there is to it. Also as of May 5, the snow-water equivalent (fancy term for snowpack) was 6 percent of normal in the Rogue Basin and a whopping 1 percent in the Klamath Basin! So, why is this “snowpack” so important? Much of the water provided by the Medford Water Commission comes from springs daylighting along the sides of Mount McLoughlin. That is augmented when we need more (like in the hot summer months) by sucking more from the Rogue River. The headwaters of the Rogue River are also fed by a beautiful series of ice-cold springs gushing from the northern flanks of Crater Lake. So, these great springs are the source of most of MWC water. Ahh, springs; so that’s the reason for “ample” water, right? Wrong. Just ask yourself one question: Where does the spring water come from? Well, let’s see, a spring comes out of the ground — it’s groundwater. But there still must be a source that gets replenished. It’s not infinite, and it’s not magic. The source of the groundwater emanating as these springs is precipitation that falls on Mount McLoughlin and the flanks of Crater Lake. Almost all of that occurs as snowfall — snowfall that slowly melts and infiltrates into the porous ground and later daylights as marvelous springs when we need it. It might take a few months to several years, but the water ultimately comes from the sky and it must be replenished. Again, it isn’t magic. So what does it mean when we get 87 percent of our normal total water falling from the sky, but only about 7 percent is snow? Simple answer: Heavy rainfall runs off, and snow hangs around and soaks into the ground. A lot of that rain we had already ran down to the rivers and on out to the Pacific Ocean when the rain fell, and our snow is pretty much gone. When the snow is gone, so is the water source for our springs. Reservoirs are not the largest places to store water each year; not by a long shot. The snowpack in our watershed is. Now there’s some magic for you. Now is not the time to tout ample water. Now is the time to think about how a long-term reduction in snowpack might affect our water supply. And in my book, it’s always the right time to conserve the most precious resource we have. Robert Coffan of Medford is principal hydrologist and president of Katalyst Inc., a water resources consulting firm. By Robert Coffan MailTribune.com By Robert Coffan Posted May. 13, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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