California Increases Water Supplies to Farms, Residents

The state’s water resources department has upped its allocation to 50 percent of what was requested by customers.

In an aerial view, water is released on the main spillway at Lake Oroville in Oroville, Calif., on June 15, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California will allow more water to flow to farms and residents as more snowpack melts into the state’s watersheds, the state announced April 29.

Last month, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) filled 40 percent of what local jurisdictions and farmers requested. This month, that was raised to 50 percent.

“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 in a statement.

According to Nemeth, the state’s full reservoirs allow the state to help meet the needs of local jurisdictions and their customers this year, and the water will provide some additional supply for next year if dry conditions return.

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, the DWR reported.

Temperatures across the state have warmed up and started melting the snow, allowing it to flow into the state’s watersheds and fill reservoirs.

Lake Oroville, the water project’s largest reservoir, reached 120 percent of average on April 29 and was 95 percent full, according to DWR.

The department anticipates that Lake Oroville could reach full 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, has reached 101 percent of average and is 83 percent full.

Earlier this month, the state’s water project reduced pumping into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to minimum levels to protect endangered fish.

“These reductions are required as part of the operating permit for the State Water Project,” the department said April 29.

Operators will likely maintain that lower rate through the end of May unless San Joaquin or Sacramento River flows increase, DWR reported.

According to DWR, California needs to invest in more water supply infrastructure.

The proposed Sites Reservoir on the Sacramento River and the Delta Conveyance Project, a tunnel system to transport water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other locations in the state, would have been beneficial this year if they were completed, said the department.

The Delta Conveyance Project could have captured more than 867,000 acre-feet of additional water this winter, which would have allowed an extra 20 percent increase in State Water Project allocations, on top of the latest 10 percent increase, DWR said.