Updated: Sept 7, 2023
Folsom, Calif.- Autumn is almost here and California water resources are heading into the season with ample water. Heavy rains and big snowstorms all winter long have delivered California residents from another dreadfully dry year. A more than ample dose of precipitation this past wet season has tampered down on the dire predictions wrongly forecasted last winter.
California’s 10 largest reservoirs have remained full this summer and are heading into autumn well above average.
Last fall, water levels at Shasta Lake were at just 31 percent capacity and meteorologists were painting another bleak rain season. Fast forward to summer 2023 and Shasta Lake remarkably stands well above 100% of average. It’s been an epic summer of houseboating and water activities.
As of early September, Folsom Lake stands at 134 percent of average. Lake Oroville, which was forced to shut off it hydropower in 2022 due to low water levels, now is reported at 79 percent of capacity, according to the California Department of Water Resources. California reservoirs began the season at a better position than the same time last year.
Did You Know?
- Taller than the Hoover Dam, the Lake Oroville Dam at 770 feet is the tallest in the United States.
- An acre foot is approximately 326,000 gallons. The average U.S. household is estimated to use between one half to one acre foot per year.
- In 2017, the Lake Oroville Dam spillway at risk of failure caused a large scale evacuation
Total Outdoor use accounts for an estimated 30 percent of water use according the U.S. EPA.
California reservoir levels over time
Sept 7, 2023
| RESERVOIR | % Capacity | % Average |
|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake | 77 | 129 |
| New Melones | 80 | 140 |
| Don Pedro | 88 | 123 |
| Lake Oroville | 79 | 138 |
| Trinity Lake | 54 | 84 |
| San Luis Res | 85 | 218 |
| New Bullards Bar | 75 | 113 |
| Lake McClure | 79 | 145 |
| Pine Flat Res | pending | – |
| FOLSOM LAKE | 73 | 134 |
January 1, 2023
| RESERVOIR | % Capacity | % Average |
|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake | 33 | 57 |
| New Melones | 29 | 53 |
| Don Pedro | 58 | 86 |
| Lake Oroville | 36 | 69 |
| Trinity Lake | 23 | 38 |
| San Luis Res | 34 | 54 |
| New Bullards Bar | 68 | 110 |
| Lake McClure | 27 | 62 |
| Pine Flat Res | 26 | 75 |
| FOLSOM LAKE | 57 | 140 |
November 1, 2022
| RESERVOIR | % Capacity | % Average |
|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake | 31 | 58 |
| New Melones | 24 | 45 |
| Don Pedro | 49 | 75 |
| Lake Oroville | 31 | 61 |
| Trinity Lake | 22 | 38 |
| San Luis Res | 25 | 55 |
| New Bullards Bar | 62 | 103 |
| Lake McClure | 18 | 42 |
| Pine Flat Res | 16 | 56 |
| FOLSOM LAKE | 30 | 69 |
Oct 1, 2021
| RESERVOIR | % Capacity | % Average |
|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake | 24 | 39 |
| New Melones | 35 | 63 |
| Don Pedro | 50 | 74 |
| Lake Oroville | 22 | 36 |
| Trinity Lake | 29 | 43 |
| San Luis Res | 12 | 26 |
| New Bullards Bar | 41 | 67 |
| Lake McClure | 20 | 45 |
| Pine Flat Res | 20 | 59 |
| Folsom Lake | 23 | 41 |
Top 10 California Reservoirs – July 4, 2021
| RESERVOIR | % Capacity | % Average |
|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake | 38 | 48 |
| New Melones | 50 | 79 |
| Don Pedro | 61 | 77 |
| Lake Oroville | 31 | 39 |
| Trinity Lake | 47 | 55 |
| San Luis Res | 32 | 51 |
| New Bullards Bar | 53 | 62 |
| Lake McClure | 37 | 53 |
| Pine Flat Res | 28 | 41 |
| Folsom Lake | 29 | 35 |
data source: California Dept of Water Resources
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