The year’s first allocation from California’s massive water storage and delivery system has been set at just 10 percent of requested supplies, officials with the state Department of Water Resources announced Monday.
DWR operates the State Water Project, which delivers water to 29 public water agencies that serve an estimated 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland throughout the state.
DWR is required to set its initial annual water allocation by Dec. 1 every year and the size of the allocation is typically fairly small at first.
As the rainy season develops, however, if the state sees an increase in rain and snowfall totals, water allocations could potentially increase every month, with final allotments announced in May or June.
For example, last year the initial allocation was just 5 percent of requested supplies but eventually increased to 50 percent.
“Recent history has shown us that anything can happen during a California winter, so it’s important that our early season allocation for the State Water Project is conservative,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth said in a news release Monday.
Currently, the state seems to be in pretty good shape, with statewide reservoir storage levels at 114 percent of average, according to DWR officials.
Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir, is at 100 percent of average for this time of year, a bit above where it was at last December.
Water Resources is but one spoke in the wheel of the California Natural Resources Agency. Natural Resources is the DEI of all DEIs PARENT company with no less than 25 other junior agencies and 25,000+ employees… to “handle us” and “our” 😉 Natural Resources.
You know who’s job I want? In fact, I’d be tempted to shoot a doe out of season for it. The (very over-qualified, I’m sure) lady makes over $200K as:
The “Senior Advisor of Offshore Winds”…!
I have always thought “how cool it would be” to Control and/or Advise the Wind and the ocean waves. In fact, I’d do that job for free. I wouldn’t even flash my nepotism card and pay my own student/family member a $ Grand just to organize a meeting.
What, if anything, has the state done to improve water storage for the state in the past 20 years? Be curious to find out.