LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday continued a local state of emergency declared in early March due to the year's dry conditions.
County Administrative Officer Matt Perry said the law required the board to evaluate the state of emergency every 30 days.
The recent rain hasn’t led to a “significant amount of drought relief,” said Perry, who suggested that the board continue the emergency.
Board Chair Denise Rushing acknowledged that the county received a letter from Gov. Jerry Brown's Office of Emergency Services about the emergency declaration, which the board passed unanimously March 4.
The letter stated that while “the situation does not currently warrant enactment of the California Disaster Assistance Act,” the agency is striving to ensure communities receive all available resources.
Supervisor Jim Comstock said that while in the last two months there has been a lot of rain, it has only amounted to about one-third of Lake County's annual rainfall.
During the discussion, Public Works and Water Resources Director Scott De Leon updated the board on groundwater supply.
“Basically, things are a little bit below the normal average in the Big Valley region but we have other groundwater areas where we’re at the normal levels,” he said.
“So from a groundwater standpoint, we seem to be in pretty good shape, certainly not anywhere near the levels of the '76 drought and some of the other drought periods that we’ve had,” De Leon added.
He said the Kelsey Creek detention structure was closed for several days, which led to hitch – which are in the midst of spawning runs – being observed in the creek on Tuesday morning.
This past week, Clear Lake's level hovered just below 2.50 feet Rumsey. De Leon said that if there isn't significant rain during the rest of the season, Clear Lake will be down to about 0.5 feet Rumsey by Labor Day. Clear Lake is full at 7.56 feet Rumsey.
De Leon said that if Clear Lake is below 3.22 feet Rumsey on May 1, no water will be available for release to Yolo County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, which owns the lake's water rights.
It's unlikely the lake will reach the level needed to ensure the water release, De Leon said.
Comstock moved to extend the local emergency, which the board approved 5-0.
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