As a result of improved water supply conditions, the California Department of Water Resources on Wednesday announced an increase in 2019 State Water Project allocations.
State Water Project contractors south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta are set to receive 35 percent of their requests for the 2019 calendar year, up from 15 percent allocation announced last month.
Allocations are reviewed monthly based on snowpack and runoff information and are typically finalized by May.
Clear Lake is part of the Sacramento River Watershed, which also drains into the Bay Delta.
“Recent storms boosted California’s snowpack and total precipitation well above average, which allows us to have a more abundant water supply allocation,” said California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth. “Although we’ve got more water in the system now, we must always manage our precious resources with tomorrow’s climate uncertainties in mind.”
Statewide, the Sierra snowpack is 146 percent of average for this date. Most of the state’s major reservoirs are at or above their historical averages for this time of year.
Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir, is currently at 53 percent of capacity and 78 percent of average for this time of year. It has been managed conservatively to provide additional flood capacity to ensure public safety as work continues on the spillways.
Shasta Lake, the Central Valley Project’s largest reservoir, is at 74 percent of capacity and 105 percent of average.
San Luis Reservoir, the largest off-stream reservoir in the United States where water is stored for the State Water Project and Central Valley Project, is at 93 percent of capacity and 112 percent of average.
In Southern California, the State Water Project’s Castaic Lake is 94 percent of average.
Reservoir storage, snowpack, precipitation and releases to meet local deliveries are among several factors used in determining allocations.
The Department of Water Resources transports the State Water Project water to 29 contractors which serve more than 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. The 2019 allocation of 35 percent amounts to 1,473,046 acre-feet of water.
State Water Project allocations increased to 35 percent
- Lake County News reports
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