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Dry winter, cautious spring Snow pack shrank in March By Bill Kettler Hope for the best, and plan for the worst. That�s the emerging strategy as Southern Oregon prepares for the aftermath of one of the driest winters since Rogue Valley weather watchers hung out their rain gauges. Medford collected barely half its average rainfall for the seven months from September 2000 to March 2001, and snow pack in the mountains is barely one-third of the average depth for winter�s end. The meager snow pack means irrigation water will be scarce for farmers. Foresters could face a long wildland fire season, and some cities could restrict water use. "If we have a mild spring with lots of rain and a mild summer we�ll be fine," said Paula Brown, Ashland�s public works director. "But those are a lot of ifs." How Dry It Is Site Average Snow water content/ end of March Snow water content/ end of March Ski Bowl Road 27 inches 2001 8.6 inches 1992 10.0 inches 1977 10.6 inches 1988 13.0 inches 1981 15.0 inches Mount Ashland Switchback 33.7 inches 1992 10.3 inches 1977 10.3 inches 2001 11.4 inches 1990 17.0 inches 1979 19.0 inches Caliban 29.7 inches 1992 10.0 inches 1977 10.0 inches 2001 12.2 inches 1990 16.0 inches 1981 16.0 inches Ashland last clamped down on water use in 1994. Brown said the city�s public works staff will meet with the City Council in May to discuss a water strategy for the coming months. Foresters already know they�ll probably face a long, busy season in the woods. There wasn�t enough rain to completely saturate dead logs and other debris on the forest floor, and those materials will lose moisture quickly with longer days and more sunshine. "No matter how much rain we get between now and June, it won�t help us catch up," said Shelly Hoffer, who manages wildland fire resources in Grants Pass for the Oregon Department of Forestry and the U.S. Forest Service. Hoffer said the wildland fire season will almost certainly start sooner this year. Fire-season restrictions on open burning have begun as early as mid-April in other dry years (April 18 in 1988; April 20 in 1977). Many weather watchers hoped March storms would rescue Southern Oregon from a parched summer, but the snow pack actually shrank during the month: from 43 percent of average at the end of February to around 32 percent at the end of March, based on data compiled by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Medford�s rainfall for the past seven months amounted to 7.9 inches, 52 percent of the average, 15.15 inches. That�s the lowest rainfall since the winters of 1991-92 (5.78 inches) and 1993-94 (7.39 inches) when wildland fires scorched thousands of acres across Jackson County. Despite the low rainfall and snow pack, Medford residents should have ample water. The city�s main water source, Big Butte Springs, is fed by melting snow that percolates through rock over the span of several years. It takes more than one year of unusually wet (or dry) weather for the spring�s flow to change dramatically. That�s not to say a dry winter has no effect on the springs. Normally at this time of year, melting snow boosts the springs� flow about 10 percent over the average winter flow of 30 million gallons per day. This year there�s no "recharge," and the springs are flowing at midwinter levels. "Normally we�d be seeing a spring flow of about 34 million gallons per day now," said Ed Olson, of the Medford Water Commission. Olson said the springs� flow will gradually decline through the summer and probably bottom out at around 26 million gallons per day, as it did during 1992 and 1994. That should provide just about enough water to meet human demands. The city also has rights to draw additional domestic water from the Rogue River near TouVelle State Park. Medford water users can expect to hear pleas to conserve water, even though there may not be an apparent shortage, Olson said. Fish, wildlife and farmers need water, too. "People need to be really cautious," he said, "and use this resource wisely." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.