BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — The Idaho Water Supply Committee met today, January 17, to discuss the state's snowpack and reservoir status.
That water supply forecast is a mixed bag this year, with Northern Idaho, particularly the panhandle, facing strong winter drought conditions.
In Boise, recent precipitation has helped charge the snowpack, but has kept the overall levels just above record-lows.
The further south in Idaho one goes, the healthier the water supply, with areas bordering Nevada and Southeastern Oregon enjoying historic snowpack surpluses.
Despite conditions, the committee believes Idaho is not in danger of facing drought conditions later in the year, citing strong reservoir performance across the state.
Those reservoirs could make the difference between whether irrigation will be possible and would significantly impact the outlook for summer drought conditions.
Daniel Tappa, a hydrologist with the Idaho NRCS said that the current conditions in Northern Idaho are "anomalous" with the rest of the American West, where snowpack has stayed below average, but not to the extent felt in places like the Idaho panhandle.
The committee emphasized that things could still change drastically before the winter is over, explaining that until the most recent storm, fourteen basins across the state were in what the committee considers a state of "exceptional drought."
Those basins included Boise, Payette, Weiser, and Spokane, among others.
Recent snowfall has helped alleviate this, though all 14 basins are still categorized as being in various states of drought.
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