Snake River Water Picture Bleak

Bureau of Reclamation figures show reservoir storage totals on the Snake River low and dropping daily as irrigators try to get their crops off to a good start.

Palisades Reservoir, one of the key storages for irrigators, is down to 33 percent of capacity and dropping daily. Totals stood roughly at 4.5-5.0 million acre feet on May 12 to roughly 3.8 million acre feet today. About 10,736 cubic feet per second are released each day from the reservoir

Jackson Lake is the only storage facility on the river that has increased totals. It has gone up from 360,000 to 390,000 acre feet in the last week. A storm last week that left rain and snow coupled with late snow pack runoff are increasing its total.


American Falls Reservoir is at 61 percent of capacity, and dropping daily.