By Carlin Girard, Water Resources Specialist & Associate Director

OVERVIEW

Hello Teton County, Wyoming, it’s your local Teton Conservation District telling you it’s time to think about how we are using our water. We are a facing a record low water year, and seeing a record year for water use. We need to limit wasteful water consumption for landscaping and in our homes.

The western third of the United States is experiencing drought, and while Teton County isn’t experiencing worst case “Exceptional Drought” conditions like the desert southwest, our county is in “Severe Drought”. But what does that mean, and what should we be doing about it? We hope to answer some of these questions by presenting data and anecdotes, and we will offer some tried and true methods to reduce water consumption.

The Exceptional Drought conditions throughout the west really are no joke. This summer, Lake Mead, our Nation’s largest reservoir, hit all-time lows since its establishment in 1930. To reduce water use, counties in Nevada have begun banning ornamental grass that does not serve a direct purpose. And closer to home, JH Daily reported on June 15th, 2021, that Sun Valley Idaho’s Wood River ran so low this spring that its Magic Reservoir had to stop delivering irrigation water to the 36,000 acres of farmland that it supports, which is the earliest the reservoir had been drawn down completely since at least 1977.

By early April 2021, 100% of Teton County, Wyoming was classified as being in drought, and in mid- July, all portions of Teton County were upgraded to Severe Drought. Severe Drought conditions are defined by areas experiencing poor pasture conditions; overgrazing is reported; hay is scarce; producers are selling cattle; dust increases; trees and vegetation are stressed; water pressure is low; and, well levels decline. This tracks with what we are seeing in Teton County.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service reports that as of July 12th, 2021 the Upper Snake River Basin has received 79% of normal precipitation for this water year, which began October 1, 2020. Winter snowpack drives this region’s hydrology and based on meteorologist Jim Woodmencey’s analysis, this year’s meager snowpack encountered a dry spring and early summer, with cooler than normal temperatures from January through most of May being followed by much warmer than normal temperatures from late May through June 2021.

SURFACE WATER

The spring and early summer weather made quick work of the snowpack, melting out our high elevation water storage weeks prior to its typical disappearance. Very dry soil conditions that were present from last fall absorbed some of that water, sublimation (evaporation from snow to air) took its share, and the rest produced a quick but near average snowmelt runoff peak in our streams and rivers. The looser in this scenario is summer baseflows in our streams and rivers.

Of our many streams and rivers that have real-time USGS flow gages, we see that most are now either setting 30-year record lows for this time period or are about to. While historical data shows that streamflows have been this low before, these low flows coincide with times of severe drought. Unless a significant change occurs in precipitation regimes, there is no reason to believe that low flows in our rivers’ and their tributaries will increase. Instead, what we can expect is low flows, high stream temperatures, and difficult over-wintering conditions for our native fisheries due to restricted habitat availability. USGS temperature data shows that Flat Creek and the Snake River are nearing 10-year record highs for this time period, and are near or above the 70-degree threshold known to be stressful for cutthroat trout.

GROUNDWATER

Drought is something that we should expect from time-to-time, but we should also expect the resulting decrease in water availability. And in Teton County, Wyoming, our surface waters are important for irrigation, aquatic ecosystems, and recreation, but it is groundwater that we humans really rely upon. Almost all of the region’s drinking water originates from groundwater. So, how does the groundwater situation compare to surface water scenario described above? They are tightly linked. In this area, the surface water can be seen as the water that spills over from the aquifer below it.

While groundwater depths are not being monitored as closely as streams, we do have data from a groundwater well upgradient from the Jackson Hole Airport which shows a very similar trend as our local streams—setting record lows for this date range compared to these is same dates throughout the 10 years period of data collect.

Interestingly, both data and anecdotes suggest that the same climatic conditions that have resulted in low stream flows and less groundwater are also contributing to record water usage, as landscaping irrigation demand has increased to keep grass green during this hot dry period. The Town of Jackson has reported that June water usage in 2021 was 165,816,910 gallons, compared to 143,252,081 for the same month in 2020. To make this a little more tangible, that’s an increase of more than 34 Olympic sized swimming pools of usage for the month of June. Other local water operators have also reported record daily water usage, and that landscape irrigation began weeks earlier this year.

What can i do?

Sometimes, we can rely upon others to address natural resources concerns. But it takes a whole community making individual contributions to address water use issues. Conservation Districts were created to address the fallout from the Dust Bowl. Trust us when we tell you that a proactive approach beats a reactive approach every time when it comes to water shortage.

As our residential and tourist populations increase, so does our demand and impact on water resources. Here are some actions you can take to help support the viability of our drinking water aquifers and aquatic ecosystems: