Pacific Northwest Research Station

The Wenatchee Aquatic and Land Interactions Team

2008 Science Accomplishments

Less water volume and earlier melts projected for snowpack

Much of the interior Columbia River basin depends on snowpack for its supply of clean water. In this semiarid environment, competition for water can be particularly intense during the late summer and early fall. Scientists modeled snow accumulation and melt to forecast the effects of increasing temperatures on availability of water from the snowpack.

Results indicate that within the next 30 years, the volume of water contained in snowpack will shrink to one-third of its current level, and the dry season will likely lengthen by several weeks.
During the extended dry season, water temperatures can be expected to increase as streamflows decrease below current levels. These effects are likely to have profound implications for land management agencies, communities, and aquatic species such as threatened salmon. Washington's Entiat Watershed Planning Unit is using these findings to develop future water storage options and allocation plans.
Outcome: Watershed planners are using projections about water supply to plan ahead for anticipated shortages.
Partners: Oregon State University, USDA Forest Service Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest

To learn more, contact Richard D. Woodsmith at rwoodsmith@fs.fed.us.