Water estimates began to incorporate remote electronic sensors in the 1990s, with aerial surveys launching in recent years. Early April is considered a key indicator of what’s to come.

Tuesday’s manual survey at Phillips Station showed snow water equivalent of 27.5 inches, which is 113% of average for the station this time of year.

Department of Water Resources snow sensor data on Tuesday showed the northern Sierra Nevada mountains at 124% of average, the central Sierra at 107% and the southern Sierra at 100%.

‘Not victims of fate,’ Newsom says of climate change

With a sweeping look at water management since the 1850s, the plan identified the 1950s and 60s as a period of infrastructure expansion.

The 2020-25 era? It’s marked by climate crisis and social change.

“I want people to know that we are not victims of fate,” Newsom said. “We recognize the world we’re living in. We recognize the trend lines into the future and we’re navigating them.”

California is the only western state that performs its own snow survey, said J. Pablo Ortiz-Partida, researcher for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

In a blog post, he said officials should also measure how reservoirs are increasingly misaligned with the state’s climate patterns because they’re situated where snowfall is becoming more scarce.

State water officials on Tuesday said statewide reservoir levels are now at 116% of average.

Only a “comprehensive reevaluation and redesign of California’s water infrastructure” will ensure the state is capable of meeting the demand for water amid this historical shift.

“A future with reduced snow is imminent,” he wrote. “California state and local agencies need to plan for it.”

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