Survey will gauge how much water mountain snow pack holds

The third snow survey of the season in the Sierra will be conducted by state water experts Wednesday.

Officials from the California Department of Water Resources will measure water content of the snow at Phillips Station, along Highway 50 about 90 miles east of Sacramento.

Snow depths and water content results should be available by 1 p.m. The survey is the third of five measurements that give water planners an estimate of spring snow melt that will end up in reservoirs.

Snow-pack water content is especially important this year because the state has struggled through three years of drought. Electronic sensors show that the snow-pack water content is at 106 percent of normal.

A telling measurement will occur April 1 when snow water content again is measured. April 1 is the usual date for optimum snow pack, a news release from the water resources department states.