As the West descends deeper into drought, climate and water experts are growing increasingly alarmed by California’s shriveling reservoirs.
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Lake Shasta — the largest reservoir in the state — holds a scant 1.55 million acre-feet of water, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, or about 34% of its capacity.
latimes.com/california/sto…
Jeffrey Mount, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center, said “everybody should be concerned” by what they’re seeing.
latimes.com/california/sto…
Lake Oroville sits just over 658 feet above sea level, or 27% of its total capacity, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
latimes.com/california/sto…
Officials said plummeting reservoir levels could soon force Oroville’s hydroelectric power plant offline.
The plant, which opened in the late 1960s, has never been forced offline by low lake levels before.
latimes.com/california/sto…
According to the California Department of Water Resources, Lake Oroville received only about 20% of expected runoff from the snowmelt this year, which the DWR characterized as a record low amount.
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Officials in March warned that already low snowpack levels were dwindling, predicating a critically dry year for the state.
By June, the Department of Water Resources found that the statewide snowpack was at a grim 0.1 of an inch, or 0% of normal.
latimes.com/california/sto…
The drought conditions have grown so worrisome that Gov. Gavin Newsom this month asked Californians to voluntarily cut back on water consumption by 15%.
Read more from @whereishayley and see more 📸 from @bvdbrug at latimes.com/california/sto…
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