2016 Water Year for the South Fork of the American River
tl;dr: Daily raftable water through Labor Day.
SFAR Water Year Forecast 2016
The May Water Report was released late Monday May 9th, with the Water-Year forecast staying in the Above Normal range. Specifically it’s forecasting the American River below Folsom at 2,850 thousand acre-feet, with 2,600-3,500 being Above Normal. It’s a very slight drop from the April forecast of 2,880. But what really matters is that the May forecast is used to set the rest of the water year plus the month of October. So barring a literal act of Congress (federal) the below is all locked in.
May Flows
- Monday – Friday: 1,300 cfs 9am-12pm
- Saturday & Sunday: 1,750 cfs 8am-12pm
- Minimum Fish Flow: 300 cfs April, 350 cfs May
Summer Flows – May 28th through September 5th
- Monday – Friday: 1,500 cfs 9am-12pm
- Saturday & Sunday: 1,750 cfs 7am-1pm
- Minimum Fish Flow: 350 cfs May & June, 300 cfs July & August, 250 cfs September
September Flows – September 6-30
- Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday: 1,500 cfs 9am-12pm
- Minimum Fish Flow: 250 cfs
- No guaranteed raftable flows Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
October Flows
- Mondays & Fridays: 1,300 cfs 9am-12pm
- Saturdays & Sundays: 1,500 cfs 9am-12pm
- Minimum Fish Flow: 250 cfs
- No guaranteed raftable flows Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
Note: The water year type for the months of November 2016 through January 2017 and the first part of February 2017 will be based on the Actual readings for the Oct ’15 – Sept ’16 water year based on the Full Natural Flow (FNF) as recorded at the American River at Folsom.
Related Links and References
- SFAR River Flow Agreement
- Quick B120 Report – Just the numbers
- Short Executive Summary – not yet updated with May results at time of posting.
- Detailed DWR Bulletin 120 Report – also not yet updated with May results
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