Low soil moisture could impact spring runoff despite normal snowpack in Park City

Overlooking Jordanelle toward Deer Valley Resort. Photo: TownLift // Kevin Cody

PARK CITY, Utah — Despite below-average soil moisture levels raising concerns for spring runoff, water experts say Park City’s reservoirs remain healthy heading into winter.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service’s December Climate and Water Report shows Utah’s mountains received 2.8 inches of precipitation in November, reaching 106% of normal, with water-year-to-date totals at 97% of median. Snowpack ended November at 108% of normal.

However, statewide soil moisture in the mountains sits at just 38% of saturation, well below normal and in the 20th percentile. The Bear and Weber Basins are particularly dry, falling in the bottom 10th percentile.

“What you’re seeing in the fall, when the snow starts to accumulate, is going to be more or less the same amount of moisture in the soil that you’re going to get in the spring when all that snow starts to melt,” said Jordan Clayton, supervisor and data collection officer for the Utah Snow Survey at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. “That’s why we get concerned this time of year when we see values that are low, because there’s really nothing that could be done until next spring.”

The Weber-Ogden basin reservoirs currently sit at 69% capacity, while the Provo system reaches 84%. Utah’s overall reservoir storage is at 73% capacity (excluding Lake Powell, Flaming Gorge, and the Great Salt Lake), roughly matching last year’s levels.

While Echo Reservoir dropped to 65% capacity from 91% last year, Clayton said other reservoirs in the system haven’t seen such dramatic decreases. “Echo is the largest production for the whole Weber-Ogden basin proportionally, the other ones have not come down as much proportionally,” he noted.

The impact extends beyond immediate water supply. “Downstream from both the Weber and the Provo basins is the Great Salt Lake,” Clayton said. “From the perspective of the Great Salt Lake, we’re definitely still pretty deep in drought. It just depends on which time frame and which application you’re considering.”

Water Availability Indices, which combine current reservoir conditions with observed streamflow, show above-normal conditions for 12 of Utah’s 18 basins, with the Ogden and Price basins in the top 20th percentile.