Wednesday December 27, 2023
Visalia Times Delta —
Most of California’s reservoirs remain above average in storage as the New Year arrives.
Despite a slow start across much of California, there is still a good chance for a wet winter and a strong El Nino. It is a good news-bad news scenario, depending on how much rainfall we are likely to see in the next few months.
If it is a low or an average rain year, the good news is we have water storage for carryover into 2024. The bad news is that if there is a repeat of the supersaturated storms that hit us last year – we may again face flooding issues.
Unlike last year, at this time, when the drought had dried up most of the state’s lakes, many of the most important reservoirs are already 50% full or more. The two big northern California dams – Shasta and Oroville are each two-thirds full.