Lake Mendocino Archives

Lake Mendocino Reaches Second-Lowest Level in History

August 6, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa)by Mary Callahan

Historic drought has reduced Lake Mendocino to its second-lowest level since it was built, leaving reservoir storage in startling condition with months of likely warm, dry weather still ahead.

The lake on Thursday held just more than 24,000 acre feet of water — a result of critically low rainfall totals that, combined, make 2019-21 the driest two years on record, the National Weather Service said.

Storage in the reservoir, completed in 1958 with a flood storage capacity of 122,400 acre feet, has dipped below 25,000 acre feet only three times before and below 24,000 acre feet only once — by half, according to Sonoma Water.

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Curtailment Orders For Russian River In The Works As Lake Mendocino Storage Drops

July 27, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Press Democratby Mary Callahan

State regulators will suspend water rights for diverters in the upper and lower Russian River in a desperate, unprecedented effort to preserve a minimal amount of storage in Lake Mendocino, which is falling by as much as 58 million gallons a day. The rapidly falling lake levels were on course to cross a threshold that would trigger curtailment orders in the upper river under emergency regulations approved in June. The drought conditions are so dire that staff at the State Water Resources Control Board decided issue emergency orders for the rest of the watershed at the same time.

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Lower Russian River Flows to Be Halved Under State Order to Preserve Stored Supplies

June 16, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /Argous Courierby Mary Callahan

The Sonoma County water agency received permission Monday to immediately cut stream flows in the lower Russian River by more than half in an effort to conserve water stored in Lake Sonoma.

Instream flows in the upper river, above Dry Creek, which is fed by releases from Lake Sonoma, already are being maintained at a very low threshold to keep as much water as possible in Lake Mendocino, the smaller of the two reservoirs.

The state decision means Sonoma Water, the county agency, and its contractors — the cities of Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Petaluma and Cotati, and the Valley of the Moon, Marin Municipal and North Marin water districts — will have to use 20% less water from the Russian River, as well.

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Curtailment Orders Coming Soon For Wine Country

June 14, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /Agri-Pulseby Brad Hooker

The State Water Board on Tuesday will consider emergency regulations to address severe shortages in the Russian River watershed. The actions are designed to protect drinking water through 2022 for junior rights holders in the Northern California region.

If the Lake Mendocino storage level falls below 29,000 acre-feet by July 1, the first curtailment orders under the regulations would go into effect. More orders would follow every two weeks if the level continues to decline. The lake level is currently at 34,000 acre-feet, with triple-digit temperatures this week likely to evaporate some of that water. The regulations also include curtailment orders for Sonoma County along the lower watershed.

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Opinion: Water Created California and the West. Will Drought Finish Them Off?

April 28, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage, Uncategorized /by Chelsea Campos /Los Angeles Timesby Michael Hiltzik

In what may become an iconic image for drought-stricken California, Gov. Gavin Newsom stood on the parched bed of Lake Mendocino on April 21 to announce an emergency declaration for Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

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California Governor Declares Drought Emergency in 2 Counties

April 22, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /AP Newsby Kathleen Ronayne and John Antczak

Standing in the dry, cracked bottom of Lake Mendocino, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency Wednesday in two Northern California counties where grape growers and wineries are major users, an order that came in response to arid conditions affecting much of the state and the U.S. West.

The declaration is targeted to Mendocino and Sonoma counties, where drought conditions are especially bad, rather than statewide, as some officials and farmers in the agricultural-rich Central Valley had hoped. But the Democratic governor said a broader drought declaration could come as conditions change.

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Lake Mendocino Hits Record Low for March; Water Managers Plead for Inland Residents to Conserve

March 23, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Mendocino Voiceby Lana Cohen

Lake Mendocino and Lake Pillsbury are the lowest they have been for this time of year since they were constructed, rainfall is between six and seven inches behind this time in 1977, and the forecast for the next two weeks has little to offer in terms of precipitation. To summarize, things are looking grim. In light of low water supplies and a dismal rain forecast, the Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District declared a reduced water supply alert earlier this month, calling for Water District customers “to follow their water conservation plans and begin water shortage contingency planning.”

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New Report Confirms Benefits of Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operations at Lake Mendocino

February 18, 2021/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Kimberlyn Velasquez /WaterWorld

Modern forecasting methods fueled by advances in understanding and predicting atmospheric river storms have enabled U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operators to better optimize water resources at Lake Mendocino, a Northern California reservoir. A multi-agency report issued Feb. 4, 2021, describes how these forecasting tools have helped operators increase the lake’s dry season stores of drinking water, improve its ability to alleviate flood risk, and enhance environmental conditions in the downstream Russian River to support salmonid species.

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High-Tech Forecasting Model Scores Scientific Win at Lake Mendocino, Showing Promise for Western Reservoirs

February 8, 2021/in California and the U.S., Home Headline, Media Coverage /by Chelsea Campos /The Press Democratby Guy Kovner

Sandbars are spreading across rain-starved Lake Mendocino, the reservoir near Ukiah that is 35 feet lower than it was a year ago, a grim wintertime sight for the second major source of water for more than 655,000 people in Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin counties. But the situation would be considerably worse without the payoff from a six-year, $50 million project applying high-tech weather forecasting to management of the reservoir behind Coyote Valley Dam built on the East Fork of the Russian River in 1958.

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Lake Mendocino Gets More Water Under New Dam Operating Rules

October 17, 2019/in California and the U.S., Media Coverage /by Mike Lee /Argus Courier

Lake Mendocino made it through a typically long, hot summer with an abundance of water and now, thanks to an ongoing experiment with high-tech weather forecasting, the reservoir can retain more water through the winter, benefiting people, fish and farmers along the Russian River.

A dollop of spring rain pumped up the 3-square-mile reservoir near Ukiah, and water managers are now hailing the initial success of an experimental program intended to maximize storage in the second largest source of water for more than 655,000 people in three North Bay counties.

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