This month started off as a soaker!
It's tough to forget all that rain we got the first week of January. Some places in the Valley picked up two inches of rain in just four days!
So, that should mean our local water supply is in great shape, right?
The answer may surprise you.
According to the Central Arizona Project, that heavy rain we received didn't have a huge impact on our local supply. That's because their H2O comes from snow melting in the Rockies. It then travels through Lake Mead, down the Colorado River, and then gets pumped to the Valley.
That rain could be beneficial in some ways, for example, it could help reduce water demand from local farmers, which in turn helps out supplies in Lake Mead.
But the news is slightly different for SRP. Heavy rain in the Valley can help reduce demand, at least in the short term. SRP also says several basins are running above normal. That's great news after five consecutive years of below average runoff.
And it's not just about the Valley; A lot of it has to do with our neighbors to the north in the High Country. Places like the Flagstaff Airport got more than 30 inches of snow that week. Other areas also picked up some major powder, so SRP says the 2016 runoff season is off to a good start.
