Lake Shasta is nearly full, according to a chart depicting current conditions at California’s major reservoirs.
After years of drought, several reservoirs in California reached concerningly low water levels in the summer of 2022. However, an abnormally wet winter last year alleviated much of the state’s drought and replenished the lakes.
Lake Shasta could reach its full capacity this spring, following a high amount of rainfall in California. The largest reservoir in California has been steadily rising since the beginning of March. It has gone up sharply since the start of the year, which saw its levels at 1,012 feet, compared to its current level on April 5 of 1,058 feet
A blizzard that pummeled California over the weekend has brought good news regarding the state’s drought outlook. The massive storm started late last week and brought more than 100 inches of snow to some high-elevation areas. The blizzard followed a slew of atmospheric rivers that brought a deluge of rain to the state.
California’s largest reservoir has raised its dam gates as water continues to swell following heavy rainfall in the state. A deluge of rainfall in the western U.S. has seen Shasta Lake rise by nearly 10 feet in the last week alone.
One reservoir in northern California rose by 5 feet after two atmospheric rivers supplemented the water levels. An atmospheric river began across much of the Pacific Northwest, including Oregon and Northern California, on Friday.
Lake Shasta, California’s largest reservoir, stands at 113% of the historical average and only 52 feet from being full, thanks to the gift of rain the state is receiving so far this winter.
California will escape much of the rainfall from an incoming atmospheric river, but the storm will still benefit some of the state’s reservoirs.
Thanks to a stormy winter and spring, Lake Shasta’s water level is almost a third higher than it usually is in mid-October.
The state’s largest reservoir at Shasta Dam, nine miles north of Redding, was 71% full on Monday, according to the California Department of Water Resources. That’s 130% of what the lake usually holds on that date, according to the state.
The last time Lake Oroville neared capacity was four years ago, and very quickly it plunged into drought territory and has seen low water levels until this winter. And now that billion-dollar, renovated spillway is back in use as the reservoir is back at 99% of its capacity.
The Feather River is getting a fair amount of extra water flow these days as Lake Oroville has been releasing water over the last week. Oroville is California’s second-largest reservoir, with a capacity of over 3.5 million acre-feet of water, and also just about at capacity is the state’s largest reservoir, Lake Shasta, which has a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet and is at 98%.
California when it rains: water cooler talk.
Both Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta reported near-full capacity Monday with plenty of snow in the northern mountains anticipated to melt.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
