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As a wet and windy storm blows in off the Pacific, a new San Jose-based radar system is watching it with the greatest precision ever, estimating rainfall in individual communities rather than providing a more general Bay Area forecast.

Discrete patches of incoming moisture are detected by a humming “X-band” radar unit on the rooftop of a treatment plant owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District, predicting precipitation and flood risk with much greater accuracy than current technology. Four more units will be phased in over the next five years for the Peninsula, East Bay and North Bay.

Recently, some legislators have been demanding that state and federal agencies – or Congress – overrule the decisions of agency biologists and scientists in order to increase the amount of water pumped out of the Delta, complaining that the state and federal water projects are not capturing most of the water from recent storms. Yet recent analysis by The Bay Institute shows that approximately 66% of the runoff in January 2016 was captured or diverted, with only one third of the unimpaired runoff actually making it through the Bay-Delta estuary. For the period of October 1st to January 31st, 60% of the storm runoff has been diverted or stored. Compare this level of diversions to the prevailing science, which shows that, to maintain a healthy river system, no more than 20% of its flows, on average, should be diverted.

Ninety percent of California’s annual precipitation usually falls between Oct. 1 and April 30, half of it from December through February. That means the next few weeks may be make-or-break for the state’s hopes of emerging from its four-year drought.
Where do things stand now?

The rain totals are looking neither terrible nor great — mostly above-normal readings for the “water year” (measured starting Oct. 1) in the northern two- thirds of the state, mostly below-normal in Southern California.

Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a revised drought relief water bill that puts California one step closer to comprehensive water policy reform, according to California Citrus Mutual (CCM) President Joel Nelsen.

“The introduction of the California Long-Term Provisions for Water Supply and Short-Term Provisions for Emergency Drought Relief Act by Senator Dianne Feinstein identifies several paths by which California can improve its water infrastructure and create a more reliable water system for all water users,” says Nelsen.  “Everybody wants something.  Most want to help people and the environment as well as sustain the production of food and fiber. But, the stakeholders who are singularly focused have been an impediment to improving California’s water crisis.”

Many water users had hoped that February would be the final month for water budgets. However, the use of water budgets continues. The next review will be April 1 when the state looks again at the amount of snow in the mountains.

Customers of California Water Service in Chico and Oroville may notice they have a box on their bill that states: “water bank.” When a customer does not use the full amount of water allowed each month under the current water budgets, the extra water goes into a “water bank.” Customers may want to use those units of water later this year, when the weather is extremely hot.