State officials warn of an ‘early melt’ water year and low snowpack; urge conservation and operations changes

State and federal water officials told the State Water Resources Control Board April 7 that the 2025–26 water year has been unusual and urgent: although several big storms in late fall and a strong February brought significant runoff, an abnormally warm March and low snow accumulation left statewide snowpack well below average and produced an early, rapid melt.

Dr. Mike Anderson (DWR) described a season punctuated by discrete high‑intensity rainfall and runoff events followed by long dry spells. He said some reservoirs captured earlier inflows but the timing of runoff — more rain and much less mountain snow — complicates operations and raises concerns about how quickly the landscape will dry and how much water will reach downstream storage and the Delta.

Carla Neimoth (DWR) and Levi Johnson (Bureau of Reclamation) outlined operations impacts: reservoir managers must balance flood protection with conserving inflows for future supply and temperature management for fisheries. Reclamation noted dynamic export operations and constraints in the Delta, as well as the role of imported Colorado River water in regional supply planning.

Board members and staff emphasized the need for all levels of government and managers to study the year’s lessons, including improved forecasting (soil moisture and snow‑observation tools), enhanced reservoir operation strategies (forecast‑informed reservoir operations), greater local recharge, and long‑term infrastructure upgrades to better capture flood flows and move water to underground storage.

Board staff closed the presentation urging conservation and noting near‑term priorities: finalize temperature management plans, monitor carryover storage and support cooperative local management solutions by the mid‑April deadlines on local cooperative submissions.

Why it matters: Early snowmelt reduces the season’s ability to recharge surface reservoirs later in spring and can accelerate drought conditions for the rest of the year. Officials said the state is seeing the kind of extremes that climate projections indicate may become more frequent and urged rapid operational responses and long‑term investments in capture and recharge.