(Photo courtesy of SRP)

Snowmelt run-off in the Verde and Salt River watersheds eventually makes it into the SRP water storage system.

(Photo courtesy of SRP)

SRP Scientists conduct a snowpack survey.

El Niño prompted high hopes of a strong spring runoff with initial forecasts of more than a million acre feet of water replenishing Salt and Verde River reservoirs. But a dry spell and warm months have reduced those forecasts greatly.

Salt River Project (SRP) now predicts this year’s spring runoff from rain and snowmelt will come in at 585,000 acre feet, a bit over the 534,000 acre feet annual median.

While the new estimate is less than half the original prediction, it reverses a five-year trend of well below-average runoff totals. SRP hopes the latest National Weather Service prediction of “above-normal” precipitation for March comes through.

Currently, the six SRP reservoirs are at 57 percent capacity compared to 53 percent a year ago. On average, SRP delivers about 800,000 acre feet of water to the Valley annually.