Inyo County
Water Department

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Owens Valley 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 2008 water year (beginning October 1, 2007, and ending September 30, 2008), precipitation measured at the gauges averaged 5.96 inches.

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).

Rain Gage 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
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 5.94 1.19 5.63
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 6.47 1.23 6.40
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 7.04 1.63 7.26
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 7.8 2.25 5.89
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 5.44 0.93 6.18
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 8.13 1.66 6.85
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 1.99 0.76 3.48
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 6.12 1.38 5.96
Avg. Precipitation Occurring
Oct 1 - Apr 15 ("Winter")		 6.84 1.86 6.75 4.39 4.79 5.24 1.21 1.17 2.45 0.97 6.07 2.87 7.74 5.50 0.92 5.49
percent in winter 98 58 86 88 75 67 60 66 75 90 88 92 84 90 67 92