SACRAMENTO COUNTY (KRON) — California’s water supply has dwindled to alarmingly low levels, but there are high hopes that El Nino-enhanced winter storms could fill up our streams and lakes.
Right now, Folsom Lake, just east of Sacramento, has been depleted by the drought.
Folsom is also one of California’s largest reservoirs with a capacity of about 1-million acre feet of water. But after four years of drought, the reservoir is at just 15 percent of capacity.
And the shore is now about three-quarters of a mile off in the distance. Folsom Lake is a prime example of just how bad California’s drought has gotten.
Normally, around this time of year, water managers would intentionally lower the reservoir’s water level to make room for incoming winter rain and snow melt, but after four dry years, there’s already plenty of space.
“The hope is that these storms actually materialize,” Bureau of Reclamation spokesman Louis Moore said.
NOAA forecasters are predicting that California could see above-average moisture this winter, and water officials are hoping it will be enough to at least partially fill reservoirs back up.
“We will store as much water as possible, and then make adjustments as needed to either increase outflow, or contain and conserve that water for future dates,” Moore said.
On the off chance that winter storms are extremely heavy, mangers are also prepared to adjust the reservoir’s water level to prevent flooding.
“Right now, we are dealing with really low reservoirs,” Moore said. “We want to fill those up as much as possible, but if the systems persist where they provide us with a tremendous amount of precip, then we need to be able to maintain flood control as well. So, it’s balancing storage, flood control, and other needs for that same water.”
And they are also hoping for cold weather and snow in the mountains, so they can keep water flowing into this reservoir through next summer.