Drier Forecast for Bighorn Basin

The Bureau of Reclamation is forecasting a very different picture of the water storage in the Big Horn Basin from what we’ve had the past couple of years.

While the last year or more has produced significant runoff from the mountains to the lakes and reservoirs, this winter is bringing us less moisture, which means the percentage of storage for irrigation and other water uses is also going down.

The Bureau predicts that from April through July, the Bighorn River will bring in just over 810 thousand acre-feet to Bighorn Lake, which is 66 percent of the 30 year average. And the Buffalo Bill Reservoir may only receive 650,000 acre-feet, and that’s 88 percent of the 30 year average.

Farther south, the Wind River April through July inflow to Boysen Reservoir is forecast at 400,000 af, which is 66 percent of the 30 year average.