California's second-largest reservoir fills for third straight year

San Francisco Chronicle​

24-05-2025

California's second-largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, reached capacity Friday, hitting the high water mark for the third straight year — a first for the 57-year-old reservoir.
The milestone comes after a moderately wet winter in California, with enough snow in the mountains, particularly in the north, to melt and flush substantial water into state reservoirs. This week, water storage in California's major reservoirs stood at a comfortable 116% of average for the time of year, ensuring decent supplies for the rest of 2025.
At Lake Oroville, about 70 miles north of Sacramento in Butte County, water levels rose Friday morning to within inches of the 900-foot elevation mark that state water managers deem full pool, prompting notice that the reservoir had hit capacity. At capacity, the lake holds 3.4 million acre-feet of water, enough to supply more than 7 million households for a year.
The lake's supplies are at the heart of the State Water Project, a network of nearly two dozen dams and reservoirs run by the California Department of Water Resources. The state facilities provide drinking water for 27 million people, mostly in the Bay Area and Southern California.
'Full reservoirs allow DWR to help meet the needs of the State Water Project contractors and their customers this year as well as provide some water supply next year in the event that dry conditions return,' Raquel Borrayo, a spokesperson for the Department of Water Resources, said in an email.
This past winter was the third straight with near- or above-average rain and snow in California. Accordingly, reservoirs have fared well, and statewide water supplies have remained robust.
Still, water managers encourage people to conserve, pointing out the fickle nature of California weather and water. Just four years ago, severe drought pushed Lake Oroville to its lowest point since the reservoir began operating in 1968.
Managers of the State Water Project have said they plan to deliver 50% of the water that contractors have requested this year, choosing to remain relatively cautious.
California's largest reservoir, the federally run Shasta Lake, also hit capacity this spring. The Bureau of Reclamation-managed Central Valley Project, which supplies water to mostly agricultural users, is similarly planning to provide 50% of the water requested to the bulk of its contractors.