California’s dismal snowpack is leading to concerns about the state’s water resources.  KERO-TV, Channel 23 of Bakersfield, California, reports that officials say the snowpack is below average.  This could impact everyday tasks like drinking, bathing and farming, the news station says.

The state faces its third year of drought, with some restrictions already in place.

The situation looked like it might improve over the winter, with reports of a record-setting blizzard of seventeen feet of snow falling in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in December.  The storms early in the season helped, but the snowpack has dwindled since then.

California needs snow to melt, but not yet.

The state gets a third of its water from the snowpack. Melted snow runs down the mountainside, making its way into the reservoirs.  Many of those reservoirs are currently below normal levels.

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