Watch CBS News

Final Snow Survey Is Good News For Cities, Farms

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Warmer spring temperatures have begun melting California's formidable Sierra snowpack, but it's still deep enough to comfort state water managers.

   The state Department of Water Resources took its final snow survey of the season on Monday and found the water content in the snowpack was 144 percent of normal. That keeps the state on track to provide 80 percent of the water requested by its contractors.

   The snowpack supplies 25 million California residents and almost a million acres of farmland.

   The allocation is the highest since 2006, when water contractors received 100 percent of their requested amount.

   This year's snowpack measurements signal the wettest winter and spring since 1995 and officially ended a three-year drought that had been declared by the Schwarzenegger administration.

   (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.