It’s not a great cocktail, mixing a snowless winter with early summer droughts, and it’s causing headaches for some Summit County ski resorts, including A-Basin, which relies on water from the North Fork of the Snake River into a local reservoir, but low stream levels require more moderation in the outflow. The ski area diverts small amounts of water from the reservoir around the clock for snowmaking operations. Snowmaking crews blow snow 10 hours per day. Snowmaking operations are permitted by water rights, but the ski area is required to maintain a minimum bypass flow to ensure stream health. The only thing that can fix the situation is — duh — actual snow falling from the sky, to help create more meltwater so that next season there’s more flowing in area rivers. Not every Summit County resort is suffering from low-water challenges. Copper and Breckenridge both say their respective stream resources are flowing fine for now. Via Summit Daily.

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Tags: Skiing, Snowboarding

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