Despite recent storms, water allocations for the State Water Project have only jumped up by another 5%. Yet the Dept of Water Resources say they expect a second allocation next month to consider the copious amounts of water the state received over the weekend due to the atmospheric river event that brought 1,000-year floods to the lower half of the state.
The allocation increased to 15 percent of requested supplies, which is up from the initial 10 percent made in December. This amounts to an additional 200,000 acre-feet of water for 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians.
DWR Director Karla Nemeth says, “This season is an important reminder of the state’s extreme conditions and stresses “the need to continue increasing the state’s ability to capture and store stormwater when it comes as rain instead of snow.”
As of today, the statewide snowpack is 86 percent of the average for this date and 69 percent of its April 1 average, which is considered the peak snowpack for the season.
As more storms impact the state over the next two months, DWR officials say they may revise allocations forecasts by mid-March, considering snow surveys, data up to February 1, and spring runoff forecasts.
