Precipitation

Inyo County Water Department (ICWD) has collected precipitation data at seven rain gauges in Owens Valley since 1993. Precipitation totals for ICWD rain gauges appear in Table 1. For the 2006 water year (beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006), precipitation measured at the gauges averaged 6.1 inches.  Although the total amounts in most gauges were high relative to the Bishop Airport long term average of 5.5 inches, note that the southernmost gauge, RG-7, recorded only 2 inches of precipitation during the 2006 water year.

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).