This bill reauthorizes through FY2031 and modifies the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program of the Bureau of Reclamation. Under the existing program, Reclamation implements activities to improve snowpack measurements used for water supply forecasts in certain western states.
The bill directs Reclamation to incorporate, to the greatest extent practicable, information from technologies that provide complete integration of accurate, timely, and spatially complete snowpack measurements and models when determining water supply forecasts or allocations to federal water contractors.
Additionally, the bill requires the program's framework to emphasize the deployment of technologies that provide integration of snowpack measuring and modeling. The bill also requires the program's focus—activities that maintain, establish, expand, or advance snowpack measurement and integrated modeling—to place an emphasis on (1) enhancing activities to achieve improved snow and water supply forecasting results that are more responsive to changing weather and watershed conditions, (2) real-time integration of measurement and modeling activities with water supply forecasts, (3) activities in river basins where measurements or modeling can produce snow and water supply data to inform water management decisions, and (4) building the capacity of the program partners to implement and adapt to the new measurement and forecast capabilities.
