California, Jan. 21, 2016 -- The state’s distressed reservoirs are seeing much-needed boosts thanks to El Niño storms, but storage remains well below normal levels, according to current data from the California Department of Water Resources.
Folsom Lake, which hit a new record low in December with just 135,561 acre-feet in storage or 14% of capacity, has risen by 44 feet in the past month and now sits at 35% of capacity. Similarly, in just six days Lake Oroville rose by more than 20 feet, increasing to 35% of capacity. According to DWR, Lake Oroville is expected to rise about another 25 feet in the next week. But despite this encouraging trend, much more rain will be needed to return the state’s reservoirs to normal levels.
DWR data for Jan. 20 show major reservoir levels are:
- Lake Shasta – 41% of capacity (62% of average)
- Lake Oroville – 35% of capacity (55% of average)
- Folsom Lake – 35% of capacity (69% of average)
- San Luis – 30% of capacity (39% of average)
- New Melones – 15% of capacity (25% of average)
To review DWR’s complete reservoir data, please visit:http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/getResGraphsMain.action.
