Inyo County
Water Department
Water Department
Inyo County Water Department has collected precipitation data at seven rain gauges in Owens Valley since 1993. Precipitation totals for Water Department rain gauges appear in Table 1. For the 2005 water year (beginning October 1, 2004, and ending September 30, 2005), precipitation measured at the gauges averaged 9.2 inches, making the 2005 water year the wettest in our short period of record.
Table 1. Precipitation (in inches) measured in ICWD rain gauges by water year (October 1 of the previous year through September 30 of the year noted).
| Gauge | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 |
| RG-1, east of Fish Slough | 5.94 | 3.40 | 7.60 | 4.51 | 4.66 | 6.09 | 1.82 | 1.32 | 2.26 | 0.86 | 5.41 | 2.75 | 8.65 |
| RG-2, near Laws | 6.29 | 3.62 | 7.80 | 4.55 | 4.91 | 7.34 | 2.50 | 1.73 | 3.27 | 1.28 | 5.49 | 2.96 | 11.13 |
| RG-3, southeast of Bishop | 7.21 | 4.34 | 8.87 | 4.29 | 6.85 | 9.98 | 2.39 | 2.93 | 4.63 | 1.24 | 6.57 | 3.59 | 9.96 |
| RG-4, south of Big Pine | 8.29 | 4.24 | 9.76 | 6.85 | 8.33 | 8.99 | 1.83 | 2.56 | 3.34 | 1.59 | 7.23 | 4.09 | 9.35 |
| RG-5, near Goose Lake | 6.83 | 2.15 | 7.07 | 5.64 | 7.02 | 7.47 | 1.98 | 0.80 | 2.46 | 0.75 | 7.47 | 2.58 | 7.94 |
| RG-6, near Blackrock | 9.00 | 2.95 | 8.67 | 7.07 | 8.68 | 10.01 | 1.88 | 1.59 | 2.91 | 1.28 | 10.38 | 4.01 | 11.38 |
| RG-7, west of Union Wash | 5.00 | 1.61 | 4.88 | 2.14 | 4.35 | 5.06 | 1.61 | 1.54 | 3.91 | 0.51 | 5.62 | 1.77 | 5.88 |
| Rain Gage Average | 6.94 | 3.19 | 7.81 | 5.01 | 6.40 | 7.85 | 2.00 | 1.78 | 3.25 | 1.07 | 6.88 | 3.11 | 9.18 |
| Avg. Precipitation Occurring | |||||||||||||
| Oct 1 - Apr 15 ("Winter") | 6.85 | 1.81 | 6.76 | 4.45 | 4.67 | 5.81 | 1.48 | 1.17 | 2.60 | 0.97 | 6.38 | 2.87 | 7.74 |
| percent in winter | 98.70 | 56.70 | 86.60 | 88.80 | 73.00 | 74.00 | 73.90 | 65.70 | 79.90 | 90.40 | 92.70 | 92.40 | 84.30 |