Tuesday, March 22, 2016 – Shasta Reservoir has topped out at 3.9 million acre-feet of storage for the past four days as the Bureau of Reclamation ramped up flood releases to make sure the reservoir has enough capacity. The releases have been set at 17,000 cubic-feet per second so that they will also help flush gravels below the reservoir for the benefit of spawning salmon. Oroville Reservoir is steadily filling and just passed the 2.84 million acre-foot mark this morning. In less than a week, Shasta went from below-average storage to making flood releases.

Northern California water suppliers joined with farmers, fishery agencies, California Trout, and Ducks Unlimited this week at the Wallace Weir along the Yolo Bypass to appreciate the recent rains and to showcase the various efforts to improve salmon habitat in the Sacramento Valley. The following video with RD 108 General Manager Lewis Bair describes this collaboration and the Sacramento Valley Salmon Recovery Program.

With the storms hitting Northern California, the Sacramento Valley is suddenly switching from drought management to flood management. This is normal for the Sacramento Valley, where the water system transitions on a regular basis from flood to water supply management, and vice-versa.  This weekend, several reservoirs will be spilling water, the bypasses will be shunting … Continue reading “Sacramento Valley Switches to Flood Management”

Water suppliers in the Sacramento Valley continue their efforts to implement the Sacramento Valley Salmon Recovery Program. This includes: