Recent wet weather is helping fill up the often-dry Twitchell Reservoir to a dramatically high level not seen in a quarter century.
As of Wednesday, the reservoir located about 10 miles east of Santa Maria, along the Northern Santa Barbara and South San Luis Obispo county line, measured at 57% capacity, a remarkable amount since it was only 1% capacity in early January.
The City of Santa Maria is providing all of its customers with groundwater supplies, due to the drought. The City says it’s meeting all drinking water standards, but customers may notice a difference in the water due to the increased hardness and mineral content. The exclusive use of local groundwater will continue through May, and the City anticipates again relying solely on the groundwater basin for November and December.
Last Tuesday marked the end of the 2019 rain year, which runs from July 1 through June 30. Wednesday was the start of the 2020 rain year.
The 2018 rainfall season that occurred from July 1, 2018, through June 30, 2019, produced 15.68 inches of rain at the Santa Maria Public Airport, or about 121% of normal.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
