Welcome to the webpage for SNOWPACS, a National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-funded project on the impact of changes in mountain snowpack on agricultural production and water allocation institutions in the western United States.
The Challenge
Recent decades have witnessed significant changes in snowpack volume and in the timing of snowmelt across the western United States. These changes, which are expected to intensify due to climate change, have impacted seasonal water availability for agricultural producers and have put stress on water allocation institutions.
What We Are Doing
We are an interdisciplinary team of researchers working to understand how predicted changes in mountain snowpack will alter the quantity and timing of water flows, how agricultural producers and other downstream users will respond to changes in water flows, and how water allocation institutions can be amended to help communities adapt.
Expected Outcomes
This project will provide information and tools to water managers, agriculture producers, and other decision-makers to improve the efficiency of water allocation institutions and support continued agricultural production in snowmelt-fed basins in the western United States.
Project Details
Project title: "Evaluating Alternative Water Institution Performance in Snow-Dominated Basins: Are Food Production Systems at Risk from Changing Snow Water Availability?"
Funding agency: National Institute for Food and Agriculture
Award number: 2018-69011-28369
Project number: NEVW-2017-08812
Home institution: University of Nevada, Reno
Other institutions: Colorado State University, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, Desert Research Institute, University of Connecticut
