Wednesday February 5, 2025
Merced Sun-Star —
California Department of Water Resources data indicates that the Lake McClure reservoir, which supplies water downstream to the Merced County waterways, is currently more than 100% of the historical average for this time of year.
As of 12 a.m. Feb. 3, the reservoir had 646,621 acre-feet of water, which is roughly 63% of the reservoir’s total storage capacity of 1,024,600 acre-feet. The reservoir is currently at 131% of the historical average for this date.
Even with the level above the historical average, Mike Jensen, Merced Irrigation District public and government relations manager., said it’s too early to tell what that means for the reservoir later this year.
“We’ve still got a couple of months winter left, so we’ll see what develops with the snow and rain,” Jensen said. “I think like most people, we’re watching to see what’s going to happen over the next couple months here.”
Due to the state experiencing both wet and dry years, Jensen said it is difficult to determine an average to compare the current precipitation data to. It is also to early to tell at this time if the reservoir will have an abundance of water in the coming months or if the reservoir will experience a water deficit this spring and into the summer months.