DWR increases water allocation to 15 percent

A series of storms in December has led the Department of Water Resources (DWR) to announce it is increasing the State Water Project allocation to 15 percent of requested supplies for 2022.

“December storms enabled DWR to convey and store water in San Luis Reservoir, which allows for a modest increase in water deliveries this year,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “But severe drought is not over. Dry conditions have already returned in January. Californians must continue to conserve as the state plans for a third dry year.”

In addition to the modest increase in State Water Project allocation to 15 percent, DWR will continue to work with its water supply contractors to address any unmet health and safety needs for 2022.

Although DWR is making this allocation increase, it continues to plan for a third consecutive dry year. DWR will preserve as much storage as possible in Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir. Water releases from Lake Oroville will be prioritized to maintain Delta water quality, protect endangered species and meet senior water right needs.

“The next two months are traditionally the heart of California’s rainy season,” said Nemeth. “We need more storms to keep filling up our reservoirs to make up for two critically dry years.”

DWR continues to plan for climate uncertainty by implementing emerging and proven technologies to improve forecasts of precipitation, seasonal snowpack and runoff. This year, for the first time, DWR will deploy aircraft with special remote sensing equipment able to produce high resolution basin-wide snowpack estimates throughout the Feather River watershed, which feeds into Lake Oroville. Ultimately, forecast and monitoring improvements will better position water managers to navigate between flood risk and water supply reliability as extreme drought and precipitation events become increasingly commonplace.

Each year, DWR makes an initial State Water Project allocation on December 1. Allocations are updated as snowpack and runoff information are assessed, with a final allocation typically determined in May or June.

DWR will conduct the next snow survey in the Sierra at the beginning of February. Currently, the statewide snowpack is at 113 percent of average for this date and 58 percent of the seasonal average.