The water in some of California’s major reservoirs is nearing historic lows. The Department of Water Resources says statewide, all reservoirs are currently holding about 57 percent of their historic norms.
But levels are dropping significantly in some of the major reservoirs. Maury Roos, is the Chief Hydrologist with DWR. He says the Lake Oroville Reservoir is near the lowest level it’s ever been.
Roos: It’s not a whole lot above the minimum of record. It’s 924,000 acre feet, the minimum we have was 882,000 thousand near the fall of 1977. That was a severe two-year drought, the worst two dry years we’ve had in a row.”
One acre foot is enough to supply a typical residential household for a year.
Roos says right now the water levels are comparable to the last six year period of drought in the state in 1992. He says levels are typically at their lowest this time of year before the winter rains.
