The Salt River Project’s (SRP) reservoirs are looking very healthy with most near capacity this fall. Right now, Roosevelt Lake which supplies most of the Valley’s surface water is at 71% and the lower lakes, Saguaro, Apache and Canyon Lake are at 90%-95%.
“The winter runoff is where the majority of our surface water supply is generated, about 85%,” said Tim Skarupa, Senior Manager of Watershed Management at SRP.
The past two wet winters have helped SRP with keeping the reservoirs full and thriving.
“In a good year, we get an early start we get some fall rains and then some snowpack building up over the winter months and then as it warms back up in March and April that helps release and increase the efficiency, so we are able to capture as much of that water as possible,” said Skarupa.
That capture and storage helps to bridge the gap during dry winter years.
“We actually take our water and we store it and we augment that water through groundwater pumping. So, we can manage our surface water supply and our ground water supply to bridge those long-term droughts,” said Skarupa.
SRP is working on increasing its storage capacity for the Verde River reservoir system over the next decade.
