Early snowmelt could lead to "water scarcity" in the West, CU Boulder study suggests - The Denver Gazette

Early snowmelt could lead to "water scarcity" in the West, CU Boulder study suggests | outtherecolorado.com

According to a new study from the University of Colorado Boulder, early snowmelt could lead to water scarcity later in the year for the western United States and Canada.

According to a summary of the research, snowpack water storage decreased by more than 25 percent in the Mountain West between 1950 and 2013.

The study suggests that dwindling snowpack could make it so that ranges like the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevadas can no longer serve as reliable "water towers" for the West in the future.

“On average and in every mountainous region that we looked at, snow melt is occurring closer in time to when it fell,” said Kate Hale, lead author of the study in a summary.

“The timing of water availability is shifting toward earlier in the springtime, with less snow melt and water availability later in the summertime, suggesting that there will be water scarcity later in the year."

Water resources in terms of snowpack are currently measured by the snow water equivalent (SWE). It determines how much water is available in snow at a given time.

In the study, Hale presents a different metric that takes early snowmelt, timing, and the amount of snowfall into consideration, called the "snow storage index" (SSI).

“The snow storage index allows us to look at snow water storage, not just in the context of how much is there at any given time, but the duration of that storage on the ground,” said Noah Molotch, associate professor of geography.

According to the study, the SSI metric should help water resource managers plan and prepare for less water later in the year.

“The snowpack is eroding and disappearing before our eyes. That's going to present challenges in terms of managing the infrastructure that's allowed the Western United States to flourish over the last 100 years,” said Molotch.

Find the full study, here.

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