Over the last three years, the Colorado River Basin has experienced three relatively healthy winters. But that decent snowpack, after melting, hasn’t filled reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell as much as water users across the West might like, due to years of drought and overuse. Recent forecasts show Lake Mead and Lake Powell will remain roughly one-third full after snow melts down from the mountains across the West into the Colorado River and its tributaries this year. … This year’s lackluster forecasted runoff into Lake Powell coincides with tense political negotiations between the seven states that use Colorado River water: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. 

Other water supply and snowpack news around the West:

• The Durango Herald (Colo.): Out to dry: Water managers brace for lean supply in Southwest Colorado
• 9News (Denver, Colo.): Colorado snowpack hits record low since 2018: Will wildfire risk increase?
• USDA: News release: Colorado snowpack approaches seasonal peak
• Denver Gazette (Colo.): Colorado’s 2025 snowpack to close out at lowest level since 2018
• KSL (Salt Lake City, Utah): Utah’s snowpack was close to normal this year. Here’s why it still gets a ‘C’
• YubaNet (Nevada City, Calif.): Halfway through the water year, average precip recorded in western Nevada County