Water managers expect full system this year

After two weeks of snowstorms, most Idaho mountain basins are now at or near 100% of average. As a result, officials expect regional reservoirs to fill this year.

The Idaho Water Supply Committee met Wednesday morning in Boise. In the upper Snake River Basin, most drainages are at 100%, with the exception of the Upper Snake above Palisades, which was listed at 91% of average.

Total upper Snake storage is about 4 million acre-feet, which is about 83% of capacity. As of this time, water managers are not sure how much flood control water release from Palisades and other upper Snake system reservoirs may be necessary this year. Experts expect to have a better handle on those numbers in early March.