Local lakes, reservoirs get closer to capacity after rain
Photo from the Lake Nacimiento Webcam Facebook Page.
–Local lakes and reservoirs are getting closer to capacity after recent rains. Here is a look at the current levels as of Feb. 27, 2019:
- Lake Nacimiento has the capacity of 337,900 acre feet. At 69-percent full it now holds 259,963 acre feet.
- Lake San Antonio has the capacity of 335,000 acre feet. At 32-percent full it is holding 108,550 acre feet.
- Lake Lopez has the capacity of between 49,000 and approximately 51,000 acre feet, depending on the amount of sludge that has built up. The lake is at 48.8-percent capacity, which is approximately 24,090 acre feet.
- Whale Rock Reservoir has the capacity of 38,967 acre feet. At 81.14-percent capacity the reservoir is holding 31,619 acre feet.
- Santa Margarita Lake has the capacity of 23,842 acre feet. At 100.9-percent capacity the lake is holding 24,056 acre feet.
So far this season, Paso Robles has recorded 16.39-inches of rain. Daily precipitation is measured in inches collected at the Paso Robles Water Yard, 1230 Paso Robles Street in downtown Paso Robles. The measurements are taken at 7 a.m. for the preceding 24 hours of rainfall.
Paso Robles Water Division has recorded an average annual rainfall total of 14.11″ from 1942 – June 2014. Click here for Paso Robles rainfall records going back to 1942. Click here for current Paso Robles weather forecasts. The 30-year average annual Paso Robles rainfall is 15.17 inches, falling on an average of 47 days. The wettest year was 1941 with 29.19 inches of precipitation and the driest year was 1947 with 4.24 inches. The most precipitation in one month was 14.76 inches in January 1916. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 5.25 inches on December 6, 1966.
An acre foot of water equals about 326,000 gallons, or enough water to cover an acre of land 1-foot deep, according to watereducation.org. In California, an acre foot, or 326,000 gallons, can typically meet the annual indoor and outdoor needs of one to two average households.
The County of San Luis Obispo public works department provides real-time data for local lakes, reservoirs, streams and groundwater. This rain and stream real-time data monitoring website is managed by the Water Resources Division of SLO County Public Works Department.
The Paso Robles Daily News has a page for rainfall totals in Paso Robles that is updated with each recorded rainfall, as well as a page for Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio water levels that displays real-time water levels:
Click here to view rainfall totals for Paso Robles.
Click here to view lake levels for Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio.
More rain is in the forecast for Paso Robles. Click here to view a forecast as provided by Weather Underground.
