Christmas storms ease drought, boost reservoir levels
The series of winter storms did Arizona reservoirs more good than predicted and eased the drought — but have still left the West in dire need of lots more of the same. The Christmas Eve storm produced 20,000 acre-feet of runoff into Salt River Project reservoirs, according to SRP’s watershed manager Charlie Ester. The C.C. Cragin Reservoir, on which Payson depends, rose by 10 feet and now is about 39% full. Roosevelt Lake — fed by the Salt River — rose by about one foot. The chain of reservoirs now stands at 70% full compared to 77% a year ago. The Salt and Verde rivers plus Tonto Creek on Tuesday were flowing at 2,678 cubic feet per second — about five times normal.