- State Water Project
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State Water Project to increase water supply allocation to 100%
With reservoirs nearing capacity and snowmelt runoff starting to occur, DWR now expects to deliver 100% of requested water supplies, up from 75% announced in March.
This water will be delivered throughout the year to the State Water Project’s 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.
The last time the project, or SWP, allocated 100% was in 2006.
San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, which holds water supply for both the SWP and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Central Valley Project, or CVP, is now full.
Additionally, Lake Oroville, the SWP’s largest reservoir, and SWP reservoirs in Southern California are expected to be full by the end of May.
Statewide, reservoir storage is at 105% of average for this date.
“Water supply conditions and careful management of reservoir operations during this extreme winter allows DWR to maximize water deliveries while enhancing protections for the environment,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “DWR is moving and storing as much water as possible to the benefit of communities, agriculture, and the environment.”
This wet winter and strong runoff conditions has allowed the SWP to make additional water available to any contractor that has the ability to store the water in its own system, including through groundwater recharge.
“We are thankful to DWR for maintaining California’s water infrastructure to accommodate all of the water that we have seen through the heavy storm events earlier in the year, allowing for this much-needed increase in water supplies,” said Jennifer Pierre, general manager of the State Water Contractors.
“California’s climate whiplash shows how critical it is to build and maintain the water infrastructure that makes the system work. Whether we are talking about storing water above ground in reservoirs, below ground in aquifers, or the way we move and pump water through 700 miles of canals, pipelines and hydro-electric facilities to get that water to your tap – it is the infrastructure that allows DWR to divert and release water for the benefit of both people and the environment,” Pierre said.
She added, “With California’s changing climate, storage projects such as Sites Reservoir and groundwater recharge, combined with the Delta Conveyance Project and improved San Joaquin Valley conveyance by repairing subsidence damage, are necessary for us to reliably manage our water moving forward. With all the water in the system right now, it can be easy to forget that it’s not a matter of if another drought will come, but when. Investing in the water infrastructure California will always need remains crucial to building California’s resilience to the impacts of our changing climate and hydrology.”
DWR is maximizing the capture and storage of this abundance of snowpack across the state.
Formally known as Article 21 water, this additional water does not count toward SWP allocation amounts. Since March 22, the SWP has delivered 228,000 acre-feet of Article 21 water to local water agencies with 37,000 acre-feet planned for next week.
The SWP typically evaluates the allocation forecasts monthly using the latest snow survey data, reservoir storage and spring runoff forecasts.
The 100% forecasted allocation announced today takes into account that data from April. Runoff analysis will continue, and an additional snow survey will be conducted in May.
While California’s surface water conditions have greatly improved this year following three years of historic drought, several water supply challenges remain in the northern part of the state and in overdrafted groundwater basins that are slow to recover.
Millions of Californians rely on groundwater supplies as a sole source of water.
The Colorado River Basin, which is a critical water supply source for Southern California, is still in the midst of a 23-year drought. Californians should continue to use water wisely to help the state adapt to a hotter, drier future.