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Wisconsin River Report February 22, 2008

Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company 2301 North Third Street Wausau, WI  54403 For more information contact Sam Morgan Phone: 715.848.2976, ex 301 Email: morgan@wvic.com

 

Above Average Snowpack Bodes Well for Spring

 

After three drought years with below normal snowfall each winter, the snowpack in the Wisconsin River Basin is well above normal this year according to Wisconsin Valley Improvement Company (WVIC) of Wausau. The above normal snowpack is one of two important factors required to refill WVIC’s reservoirs. The second, and equally important factor in recovering from the three-year drought, will be normal or above normal rainfall during the critical period of April and May. While the above normal snowpack will likely produce good runoff this spring, significant spring rains will also be required to completely refill the reservoir system.

Snow depths in the northern Wisconsin River Basin average 18 inches in Vilas County, 20 inches in Oneida County and 22 inches in Lincoln County. In the central basin snow depths average 23 inches in Marathon County, 24 inches in Portage County and 21 inches in Wood County. Some of the deepest snow in the state was reported in Adams and Juneau Counties with 29 inches on the ground. Normal snow depths in mid-February are 17 inches in the northern basin and 12 inches in the central basin.

The critical factor during spring runoff is the amount of water contained in the snowpack. Current observations show 4.0 to 4.5 inches of water in the northern snowpack and as much as 5.2 inches of water in the snowpack at some locations in the central basin. Normal snow water content is about 3 inches in the northern basin and 2.5 inches in the central basin in mid-February.

While the snowpack is well above normal, river flows are still running below normal because of the dry conditions over the past three years. The flow of the Wisconsin River at Merrill averaged 1,510 cubic feet per second last week, 25% below the February normal of 2,014 cfs. Water released from WVIC’s northern reservoir system provided 27% of the Merrill flow. At Wisconsin Rapids river flow averaged 2,135 cfs for the week or 30% below normal. The combined release of water from the northern reservoir system and the Eau Pleine Reservoir provided 26% of the flow at Wisconsin Rapids.

Storage in WVIC’s reservoir system is dropping slowly as water is released to augment the low natural river flows. Overall storage in the system of 21 reservoirs fell 2% over the last week to 27% of capacity. Water levels in WVIC’s five large reservoirs range from 7.9 feet below full at Rice Reservoir (Lake Nokomis) near Tomahawk to 15.8 feet below full at Eau Pleine Reservoir near Mosinee.

 

 

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