History of Snow Surveying
Snow surveying in the United States began on Mount Rose, a 10,800' mountain in Nevada overlooking Reno on one side and Lake Tahoe on the other. Mt. Rose was used as an ``outdoor laboratory'' by Dr. James E. Church, Jr. in his study of snow in all of its phases.In the early 1900's, as an offshoot of his original work, Dr. Church devised a method of measuring depth and water content of snow. The first practical application of this method ended the so-called ``Tahoe Water War.'' Through the use of Dr. Church's data, a good correlation was found between water content of the snow on Mt. Rose and the spring rise of the Lake. Thus, releases could be regulated to prevent both flooding and waste of water -- putting an end to battles between local land owners and downstream users.
California Cooperative Snow Surveys
As the successful use of snow surveys in the forecasting of runoff became known, several water agencies began independent snow survey programs. After a few years, theses agencies, and the State of California, recognized both the inherent value that such information could have for water users throughout the State and the need for centralized coordination of the snow survey program. Following some sporadic attempts at statewide involvement, in 1929 the State Legislature established a statewide program that has continued to this day. The Legislature, after consultation with major water interests, determined that the Division of Water Resources (now the Department of Water Resources) would be the coordinator of the ``California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program'' and so directed in Section 228 of the Water Code.Today in California more than 50 state, national, and private agencies pool their efforts in collecting snow data. Over three hundred snow courses are sampled each winter with some of the original courses, established more than 60 years ago by Dr. Church, still in use.
Funding the Program
The Snow Survey program is an example of State, Federal, local and private cooperation. Local agencies ranging in size from small irrigation districts to large urban water districts contribute money, data or both to the program. Forecasting and administrative staff are funded by the State and data collection activities are funded by cooperating agencies.
Federal agencies involved in snow surveys data collection cooperate by contributing to personnel costs for data collection. It is estimated that the direct value of contributed data is in excess of $650,000.
The total budget for the Program including the contributed data is approximately 1.6 million dollars.
Next: The Snow Surveyor
California Cooperative Snow Surveys
