02/14/08 They're not talking drought this year

January was a good month for building the Idaho snowpack and so far this month, so good. ANDERSON "We are at least average to above average now in every basin in the state. Department of Water Resources Hal Anderson is a member of the Water Supply Committee which met in Boise yesterday. Abundant basin snowfall so far this winter means that Idaho agriculture producers shouldn't have to worry about water this summer. ANDERSON "We are not anticipating necessarily that all the reservoirs are going to fill. The upper Snake is probably the one that is still the most questionable but I think everybody is feeling fairly confident that we're going to be even close there." A lot can happen over the next month an a half but one scenario that they're looking at it potential flooding because of near record snows in the lower and mid-level elevations. ANDERSON "Cottonwood, Dry Creek again in the Boise area but we've got other areas in the state that are similar. We've got basins that don't have a lot of storage. Those could be potential problem areas depending upon how the snow comes off." An early spring and warm rains could lead to problems in some areas like north Idaho and along the Weiser River but there's still time to accumulate more snow. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott