UNR announced a $4.97 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week to study how new snowpack patterns affect how much water is available for farms and ranchers across the West.

Snowpack is a critical part of the water supply. When it melts in the spring, snowpack runs off into rivers, which rural and urban economies tap for water. With changing weather, researchers have observed changes to how snow is falling and when it is melting. That changing dynamic has affected assumptions about when and how much water will be available to use for irrigation or store in reservoirs.

“Agriculture in the arid West has historically benefitted from natural storage and predictable melt rates of mountain snowpacks; but, existing built water storage and delivery infrastructure no longer represent our snowpacks," Adrian Harpold, assistant professor in the University of Nevada, Reno College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, said in a press release. "Earlier melting of mountain snowpack alters the timing of runoff, putting additional pressure on reservoirs to meet the needs of agricultural water rights holders."

The grant will also look at the ability of water users to adapt to changes in snowpack under the current system of Western water law.

UNR will lead a team from across the region, working with other research institutions, including the Desert Research Institute, Colorado State University and Arizona State University.