After ‘miracle’ water year, can agencies capture more from next El Niño?
There was a lot of rain and snow during California’s just completed “water year,” from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30 — nearly double the historical average in the southern half of the state. … Recent projects by the Chino Basin Watermaster, for example, which manages the aquifer that sits under much of northwestern Inland Empire, allow the agency to capture an additional 4,000 acre feet of stormwater. (Each acre foot is enough to serve two households for a year.) And given how much rain fell, Justin Nakanowater, who serves as the agency’s manager of technical resources, said the Chino Basin was able to hold onto 20,000 acre feet of water this year — two and half times more than last water year. … It’ll take many more perfect storms to make up for past deficits, though, water experts caution.
Related articles:
- The New York Times: The past 12 months in California were among the wettest ever
- AccuWeather: Wet and windy pattern returning to Northwest while intense heat builds in California, Arizona
- Newsweek: How California reservoir water levels will change, according to predictions
- Eurasia Review: Second report on status of global water resources published