Bay Area's water supply in a 'good place' as CA reservoirs fill from rain
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KGO) -- Bay Area reservoirs are filling up from powerful rainstorms.
Santa Clara Valley Water District spokesperson Matt Keller said after the dry start to the year, water levels at their reservoirs went from 70% of normal in mid-January to 82% now.
"So it's obvious on the upward swing, and then with this rain and then all the runoff that's going to be coming in the next few days I expect that number to go up," Keller said.
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At California's two largest reservoirs, Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville, the Bureau of Reclamation has increased the amount of water flowing out to make room for more water coming in.
As of Thursday, Shasta Lake was 82% full.
"Shasta and Oroville, they're full and they're way above normal for this time of the year," Keller said.
Keller said this is important because half of Santa Clara County's water supply comes from that system as well as San Francisco's Hetch Hetchy system.
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The snowpack is an essential part of our water supply.
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"The last snowpack survey that they do in April really is the tell-tale sign of how we're going to do for our water year," Keller said. "So we'll wait for that before we decide on whether or not we had a good season."
Keller said that we're in a good place right now with the water levels.
"Being around normal is a good place for us to be here in Santa Clara County and in California when it comes to rainfall," he said.
