Monday Top of the Scroll: California’s two largest reservoirs are at ‘critically low’ levels
At a point in the year when California’s water storage should be at its highest, the state’s two largest reservoirs have already dropped to critically low levels — a sobering outlook for the hotter and drier months ahead. Shasta Lake, which rises more than 1,000 feet above sea level when filled to the brim, is at less than half of where it usually should be in early May — the driest it has been at this time of year since record-keeping first began in 1976. Lake Oroville, the largest reservoir in the State Water Project, a roughly 700-mile lifeline that pumps and ferries water all the way to Southern California, is currently at 55% of total capacity.
Related articles:
- CNN: The two largest reservoirs in California are already at ‘critically low levels’ and the dry season is just starting
- KCRA Sacramento: Folsom Lake nearly full, but extra releases needed this summer to make up for shortages elsewhere
- Orange County Register: What rainy season? Southern California sees little relief on drought
- Associated Press: Spring storm delivers snow to Northern California mountains