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Flagstaff Storms Boost Water Supply
Laurel Morales
Snow in Flagstaff on Jan. 6, 2016.
Laurel Morales
Flagstaff teacher Jeff Hines shovels his driveway.
The National Weather Service has forecasted as much as 2 feet of snow for northern Arizona by Friday. The snowpack is good news for Flagstaff’s water supply.
Flagstaff relies on two drinking water sources. The city pumps groundwater from wells and surface water from Upper Lake Mary. In dry years, people get most of their water from wells. But Flagstaff utility director Brad Hill said surface water is preferred because it’s renewable and cheap.
“Storms like these provide great snowpack for us,” Hill said. “And the spring runoff will help us determine if we will deliver more or less surface water.”
Last year, Flagstaff had a dry winter, then Upper Lake Mary rose to 70 percent capacity after two wet weeks in March. So the city was ably to rely on more surface water.
Hill said city officials measure the lake level in April to decide how much groundwater will be needed to supplement the reservoir water.
