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The snow has melted and the forecast is in: Lake Mead is safe from shortage for another year. According to projections released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the reservoir east of Las Vegas will have enough water in it on Jan. 1 to stave off a first-ever federal shortage declaration — and the mandatory water cuts for Nevada and Arizona that would come with it. The lake is also on track to avoid a shortage in 2019, thanks to decreased demand downstream on the Colorado River and a larger-than-usual influx of water from Lake Powell upstream.

Backers of the proposed Sites Reservoir west of Maxwell filed an application Monday for Proposition 1 funding and released environmental documents about the project for public review and comment. Monday was the deadline to apply with the California Water Commission for a share of the $2.7 billion for water storage that was in Proposition 1, a bond voters passed in November 2014.

During the drought, Californians often asked why the state wasn’t building more reservoirs. On Tuesday, the state finally began taking a major step toward that goal, unveiling a list of 12 huge new water projects — from massive new dams in the north to expanded groundwater banks in the south — that will compete for $2.7 billion in state bond funding for new water storage projects.

The state Department of Water Resources is beginning to lay the gravel foundation for spawning salmon. This comes as much of the gravel was washed away with high flows from the Oroville Dam spillway this winter. DWR expects to finish the project by the end of August, in time for the salmon’s spawning season starting in September, according to a press release issued Monday afternoon. Using heavy equipment, an estimated 5,000 cubic yards of gravel will be placed in the Feather River channel behind the Municipal Auditorium.