Wednesday October 23, 2024
Mercury News —
The weeks around Halloween in California usually bring cooler weather, Christmas decorations in stores, leaves to rake and umbrellas opening for the first time since spring.
So far this year it’s still dry. No major rain is forecast through the end of October. But that doesn’t mean the state is heading for water shortages. Because the past two winters have been wetter-than-normal, California’s major reservoirs are currently holding more water than usual for this time of year.
That’s giving the state — which has suffered through three severe droughts over the past 15 years — a welcome water-supply cushion, experts say, as this winter season approaches.
“The reservoirs are in pretty good shape,” said Jay Lund, a professor of environmental engineering at UC Davis and vice director of the university’s Center for Watershed Sciences. “We had a wet year in 2023, then a better-than-average winter this year. It’s nice to have water in the reservoirs. Things are probably looking good for the next year or so.”
On Tuesday, the 154 largest reservoirs in California were at 114% of their normal capacity for this date, according to data from the state Department of Water Resources.