Wednesday April 30, 2025
California Department of Water Resources —
As snow begins to melt in the mountains and make its way to California reservoirs, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) today announced an increase to the State Water Project allocation forecast for 2025. The allocation has increased to 50 percent of requested water supplies, up from 40 percent last month. The State Water Project provides water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.
California’s snowpack peaked on April 4 at 100 percent for the season. With the weather warming up, that snowpack is now starting to melt and flow into California’s watersheds and further filling up reservoirs. Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir, is 120 percent of average for this date and 95 percent full. DWR anticipates that Lake Oroville could reach capacity this spring, which would mark the third straight year the reservoir has filled. San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, a critical storage space for Southern California water, is 101 percent of average for this date and 83 percent full.
“This winter, water managers were able to navigate extreme swings between wet and dry conditions thanks in part to new operating permits that allow increased flexibility in operations to move water into storage while protecting endangered species,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “Our full reservoirs will allow us to help meet the needs of the State Water Project contractors and their customers this year as well as provide some water supply next year in the event that dry conditions return.”