Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

Dennis Morgan of Salem launches his boat Tuesday afternoon at Carvins Cove in Roanoke County. The cove, one of the Roanoke Valley's primary sources of drinking water, was 8 feet below pond before recent precipitation.

Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

Despite recent rain and snow, the water levels still remain low at many bodies of water in the Roanoke and New River regions.

A snowstorm and several days of rain this month have put the Roanoke and New River regions closer to escaping drought status.

After several years of subpar rainfall and a February nearly 2 inches below average, March is so far on track to exceed the average.

That's a good thing for the region's lakes and reservoirs.

Carvins Cove, one of the Roanoke Valley's primary sources of drinking water, was 8 feet below pond before the snow and rain.

As of Tuesday, it's gained 2¹₂ feet over the past two weeks, said Gary Robertson, executive director for water operations for Western Virginia Water Authority. Monday's rainfall alone increased the water level by 6 inches, and Robertson said he expects more to come as water continues to flow in from Tinker and Catawba creeks, which feed the cove.

"We're pretty confident we'll get up to 4 or 5 feet" below full pond, Robertson said. "That's pretty good for this time of year."

March, April and May traditionally provide the reservoir's best rainfall.

The valley's other main water source, Spring Hollow Reservoir fed by the Roanoke River, is much deeper than Carvins Cove. It was almost 40 feet below full pond before the recent rain and snow.

"We've put about 16 feet in there over the last two weeks ... hope to get another 5 or 10 feet in with the river flows," Robertson said.

Assuming that rainfall the next several weeks continues on track, that will go a long way toward moving the region out of its current moderate drought status, said Peter Corrigan, hydrologist at the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. The region has been in a drought trend for years.

"If it stays normal, we should be fine," Corrigan said. "We're not that far behind."

The rain also helped Mountain Lake in Giles County, which over the past year had dwindled to the size of a small swimming pool.

"It's brought the lake back up to the level of July 2008," said Emily Woodall, director of the Mountain Lake Conservancy. "That's a little less than a third of full pond."

The water still is about 100 feet from the boat dock, which was last usable in 2007, she said.

"There is a long way to go, to be quite honest," Woodall said. "There's a hump that it needs to get over before it can refill anymore. We'd need a significant amount of rain to help get it over that hump. I'd say we need two or three years with wet winters and a lot of precipitation, maybe more. No one knows."

Smith Mountain Lake was full before this latest stretch of rain, said John Shepelwich, a spokesman for Appalachian Power Co., the utility that generates electricity at the man-made lake.

Smith Mountain Lake's current adjusted level of about 795 feet is a major improvement over last summer's drought, when water levels dropped several feet below the full mark. The low water created access and safety hazards for boaters and other recreational users.

"Everything out there is fine as far as water levels are concerned," Shepelwich said Tuesday.

But one of the three generators that are part of the power-generating process will be out of commission until May so a rotor can be fixed. The repair is a must and the timing is suitable because there is typically less demand for energy this time of year, Shepelwich said.

With one generator down, it takes longer to pump water back into Smith Mountain Lake from the project's lower reservoir, Leesville Lake, but no significant impact on residents is expected, he said. Water is released and pumped back into Smith Mountain Lake as part of the hydroelectric process.

Staff writer Courtney Cutright contributed to this report.