![]() ![]() That year the Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle marinas had to pull most recreational boats out of Lake Oroville and shut down their boat rental business because water levels were too low and it was too hard to get to the marinas, said Jared Rael, who manages the marinas. That’s compared to 2021, when water levels dropped so low that its hydroelectric dams stopped generating power. The reservoir is 16% above its historic average. Managers are now releasing water from the Oroville Dam spillway, which was rebuilt after it broke apart during heavy rains in February 2017 and forced the evacuation of more than 180,000 people downstream along the Feather River. “There’s just too much snowmelt to be accommodated in our rivers and channels and keeping things between levees.” “We know there will be flooding as a result of the snowmelt,” Nemeth said. Now as the weather warms up, water managers are preparing for all that snow to melt, unleashing a torrent of water that’s expected to cause flooding in the Sierra foothills and Central Valley. The snowpack’s water content is 239% of its normal average and nearly triple in the southern Sierra, according to state data. The storms have created one of the biggest snowpacks on record in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Some reservoirs are so full that water is being released to make room for storm runoff and snowmelt that could cause flooding this spring and summer, a new problem for weary water managers and emergency responders. “So, hydrologically, California is no longer in a drought except for very small portions of the state.”Īll the rain and snow, while drought-busting, may bring new challenges. “California went from the three driest years on record to the three wettest weeks on record when we were catapulted into our rainy season in January,” said Karla Nemeth, director of California Department of Water Resources. The water picture changed dramatically starting in December, when the first of a dozen “ atmospheric rivers ” hit, causing widespread flooding and damaging homes and infrastructure, and dumping as many as 700 inches (17.8 meters) of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Wells ran dry, farmers fallowed fields and cities restricted watering grass. Late last year nearly all of California was in drought, including at extreme and exceptional levels. It’s a stunning turnaround of water availability in the nation’s most populous state. That includes Folsom Lake, which controls water flows along the American River, as well as Lake Oroville, the state’s second largest reservoir and home to the nation’s tallest dam. Now, 12 of California’s 17 major reservoirs are filled above their historical averages for the start of spring. Those scenes are no more after a series of powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across California, replenishing reservoirs and bringing an end - mostly - to the state’s three-year drought. (AP) - Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during the depth of California’s drought that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake. Business & Finance Click to expand menu.įOLSOM, Calif. ![]()
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