Snowy winter fills reservoirs throughout the state

But it looks like spring may show up after all – perhaps in the form of a rare super bloom of wildflowers.

The gray skies, a chance of rain and temperatures in the mid to upper 60s persisted through this week – and should continue on into next week. However, forecasters say the jet stream has finally shifted into a more normal position – and could bring to an end the chain of big storms that broke snowfall records in many areas of the state.

Sunrise Park Resort early this week reported an 86-inch base, with 205 inches of snow for the season.

In the meantime, the wet winter filled reservoirs on the Salt, Gila and Verde watersheds.

Roosevelt Lake this week swelled to 86% full – and will likely go higher as the runoff season continues. The Salt River reservoirs on the Salt and Verde rivers are now 87% full, compared to 72% at this time a year ago.

Streams continue to gush.

Early in the week, the Salt River was booming along at 268% of normal, Tonto Creek at 739% of normal and the Verde River at 374% of normal. That all added up to a flow into Roosevelt of 6,350 cubic feet per second – nearly four-times normal.

The C.C. Cragin Reservoir on the Rim which supplies Payson with some 3,000 acre-feet of water annually was 67% full – with the runoff season continuing. The reservoir now holds 10,000 acre-feet.

The Salt River near Roosevelt was flowing at 2,355 cfs, The White River near Fort Apache at 266 cfs, Carrizo Creek near Show Low at 114 cfs, the Black River at Point of Pines at 546 cfs, Tonto Creek at 1,000 cfs and the Verde River above Horseshoe Dam at 2,522 cfs.

So much water was rushing into SRP’s reservoirs that the utility company began releasing water from Bartlett Dam, flooding downstream crossings in Phoenix. Most of that water will end up in the Valley’s dwindling water table. The SRP has three watersheds that cover a 13,000-square-mile area in northern and eastern Arizona to slack the thirst of 2 million customers. SRP reports that the Salt and Verde watersheds haven’t gotten this much snow in 30 years.

SRP hasn’t released overflow water from Bartlett since 2019 and will likely end up releasing 10,000 acre-feet – roughly 3 billion gallons. That’s enough to support 30,000 households for a year.

SRP’s considering teaming up with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to spend $1 billion to raise the height of the Bartlett Dam to increase the reservoir’s capacity. Silt has reduced the capacity of the dam by 45,000 acre-feet since World War II.

It’s unclear whether the wet winter across much of the West will also ease the water shortage on the Colorado River, where Lake Mead and Lake Powell have dwindled to about 25% of their capacity. The Bureau of Reclamation has warned it may have to drastically limit releases from those reservoirs this year and next – which could cost Arizona nearly a third of the water it normally uses. That move could hasten the decline of groundwater supplies throughout the state.

Flagstaff this year has gotten 143 inches of snow – the most since 1978-79. The North Rim of the Grand Canyon has gotten 205 inches – compared to 126 inches in a normal year. McNary recorded 93 inches compared to a long-term normal of 66 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

In February, Payson got 6.7 inches, compared to the 4.9-inch normal. But Show Low got 24.5 inches, compared to 3.8 inches in a normal year.