Jeff, the average changes daily as well. Together, the BAWSCA agencies account for two-thirds of water consumption from the system and pay for two-thirds of its upkeep. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park is seen in 2022. Then it has the appearance of something filling up, while still providing all the detail. Love this. The area around Shasta has more volcanic soils that absorb rainfall than the Feather River drainage. So included in DWR #S. Click here for the SFPUC's 2020State of the Regional Water System Report. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. The maximum that the city has put away is 570,000 acre-feet of water. Related articles . Trailhead address: Evergreen Road (Hetch Hetchy Road), Yosemite National Park, CA 95321. So they should be saving much more and deal with the .000001 of risk later. This dashboard provides a bit more detail on the state of each of the reservoirs while also showing an aggregate total. You can email her at agraff@sfgate.com. Begin at O'Shaughnessy Dam. Great graphs and very useful. The OShaughnessy Dam, which was completed in 1938 and is 430-feet tall, impounds water in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir for communities in the Bay Area. Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. In another sign that Californias drought is easing, San Francisco captured more than a years worth of water in just one months time. a broad meaning that had been previously applied in an She has been with SFGATE for more than 10 years. The Hetch Hetchy Valley today with the dam seen in the lower right. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com, Yoohyun.Jung@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang, @yoohyun_jung. This local water is captured in reservoirs located in San Mateo and Alameda counties. Similar to the water supply issues discussed above, the amount of power replacement is small in a statewide context less than of 1% of the renewable power supply being developed this decade alone. Thats a very poor design. HETCH HETCHY RES A HETCH HETCHY CA. March 12 - The Perks of California Native Wildflowers, March 28 - Rainwater Harvesting and Rain Gardens, April 01 - Lawn Conversion to Native and Drought-Tolerant Plants. I think the problem is with the CDEC database (as the LakesOnline website also has had incorrectly high information). since it required flooding a Horoscope for Friday, 3/03/23 by Christopher Renstrom, No seriously, dont drive up to Tahoe this weekend, Wife of Jeffrey Vandergrift issues somber update, Snowboarder dies at Tahoe ski resort following historic blizzard, Scream publicity stunt floods Bay Area dispatch with 911 calls, The best fried chicken is at a San Francisco strip club, Rain reenters Bay Area forecast: Have an umbrella near you, The Warriors broke Russell Westbrook, just like old times, Mochi muffin bakery closes SF cafe after just 4 months, Arrest in killing of woman seen running through Tahoe campground, Oakland ransomware attackers leak 'confidential' data, California Department of Water Resources website, 14 things you need in your car before you drive to Tahoe. Super frustrating. All of this work is nothing short of brilliant. Great Job on this site! Call 209-372-0200 for the latest road and weather conditions, Hetch Hetchy Road Daily Hours: 8 am to 5 pm I would think with the rain it would get to historical average and then more outflow would happen. Spring snowmelt runs down the Tuolumne River and fills Hetch Hetchy, the largest reservoir in our water system. This site is a great tool, especially as we try to climb out of these drought years. Restore Hetch Hetchy. If you are on a mobile device you can tap the reservoir to get that same info. Hours: Year-round, but only accessible by car when the Hetch Hetchy Road is open. 501(c)3 organization, federal tax ID #942419885. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Subscribe to receive email notifications of new content. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). California snowpack hits highest level this century for March. The question was, what constitutes unreasonable method of . A dry January with little rainfall across much of Northern California actually didnt hurt the states water storage levels, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. Shasta, Oroville, Hetch Hetchy and many others were built by damming large rivers. California drought: Charts show where reservoir levels stand after a dry January, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area. Part of the lake is on the California side, but it has zero California water impact beyond the immediate Tahoe residents. Major snowstorm might leave you stranded, New 101 express lanes opens in Bay Area. The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. The upcountry portion of the System begins with Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park. SFPUC said as of this week, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir is at 92 percent capacity. That cant be right. Generation at Holm powerhouse below Cherry Lake would be less affected. Our reservoirs were alarmingly low. Really appreciate the work you did to build this graph. All rights Northern California's reservoir levels continued to rise in the week after an atmospheric river slammed the state with torrential rain and high winds. In 2007, the Bush In Yosemite National Park, the Hetch Hetchy reservoir relies. The recent spate of storms lifted the statewide snowpack to 190% of average for the start of the month, and more snow is on the way. Privacy Policy | 2011-2021 San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. sends student to hospital, Heres how much rain and snow is on the way this weekend, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. over the past few days. Take CA Highway 120 from the park toward Groveland. After record snowfall in December was followed by a dry January, there are renewed concerns of drought. For the class we based all our designs on the USACE spillway design manual. They are draining it currently so that it can serve as that overflow if needed given how much rain is coming down and expected over the next week. I have to agree with many people here what a great job making such a clear graph of whats happening. So my question is, How do we know if we are saving the water for later release (late summer) or are we releasing it to the ocean? I live close to Eastman Lake. For example, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park provides 85 percent of San Francisco's total water needs. A 1 week change would be interesting to show on each. Great work. The tremendous inflow to city reservoirs during the recent storms, mostly in and around Yosemite National Park, has lifted San Franciscos total water storage to near capacity. For example, the average storage level for Feb. 7 is usually 65% of capacity for Trinity Dam, but currently its at 31%. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NAVD 1988, LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929, and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. This is the best one out there. Its currently listed on this page as 29kaf full, but the usgs.gov page below says Hetch Hetchy is at 299.7kaf full. Id only be interested in the totals from Oroville and Shasta. dam and restoring the valley. Long-term values for reservoir inflows use maximum number of complete water years in record. I love this this site too. The SFPUC has voiced concerns with the Plan, as it would dramatically reduce the agencys water supply, leaving it subject to significant rationing in droughts and more extreme weather conditions brought on by climate change. Fish and Wildlife Service that provides an immediate $4 million investment for habitat improvements for fisheries in the Tuolumne River. Could you also show each reservoirs level as a function of time? A wet December produced ample snowfall, which is still sitting at high elevations. At the height of the recent drought, they still had at least four years in storage. And for the years they were hoarding water, the salmon-based ecosystem suffered.. This is an excellent tool you have put together. At the moment, I am not interested in the debate. Great visualization Chris! Could you also do the same for the Colorado River reservoirs to see how they are fairing? Its water supply Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, in the Sierra Nevada is 80% full, . The judge also noted the provision of the state During the winter months, they let water out of the reservoirs in anticipation of large storms. With modest additional investments San Francisco will be able to maintain an uninterrupted supply of high quality Tuolumne River water. More about the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement can be found athttp://www.tuolumnerivermanagementplan.com. UPDATE: Here's where California reservoir levels stand after this week's rains. Ive looked at reservoir sights for years. The windfall of water is welcome news for households and businesses in San Francisco, which use less water on average compared to the rest of the state but nonetheless have faced calls to cut back since 2021 because of water shortages. It could be the 180% of historical average of snowpack, which will be melting in a couple months. Hetch-Hetchy predicted to fill by end of the snowmelt period 2020-2021 Winter season continues to be dry 2019-2020 was dry, although key differences Feb. 2020 was unusually warm, which impacted snowfall levels and water demands; Feb 2021 was cooler, and hence snowfall level higher and water use lower They also built a spillway that was too steep and did not install energy dissipators along the spillway. Major snowstorm might leave you stranded, New 101 express lanes opens in Bay Area. Hetchy refers to a valley in the Sierra Nevada and a reservoir that Thanks for developing it, and for sharing it with the rest of us! Next feature request: wire in aquifer level data! How do I pay my bill? Hetch Hetchy is only one of nine reservoirs in the San Francisco Public Utility Commission's water system. The captured water is piped 150 miles to the Bay Area. They are releasing water into the canals. All rights reserved. Thanks for providing it for public information. Even with all the rain and floods, still a long way to fill them to capacity. At times, nearly 90% of the flow of the Tuolumne River is piped off by the SFPUC and other water agencies in the region. Californias largest water agencies, in both the urban and agricultural sectors, have invested in ambitious groundwater banking programs inKern County. Lock finding an alternative water and power source (Hetchy Hetchy also Kellie Hwang is the newsletter editor for The San Francisco Chronicle. Find out more about the system at http://www.sfwater.org, BAWSCA Board Policy Committee Meeting, April 12, 2023 1:30pm. The extensive amount of storage, which is designed to benefit the Bay Area as droughts become more severe with climate change, has become a sticking point in a longstanding environmental battle over how much water the city should be taking from rivers. Thats just another very strong indication visually that its a big water year.. At the same time, theyve also said its critical to maintain sufficient water supplies to keep Bay Area communities and its economy running during a prolonged drought. Lake ShastaLevel before the storm on Oct. 22: 882.57 feetLevel after the storm on Nov. 1: 885.47 feetTotal rise: 2.9 feet, Storage before the storm: 970,859 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 1,001,879 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 31,020 acre-feet, Lake OrovilleLevel before the storm: 630.80 feetLevel after the storm: 661.20 feetTotal rise: 30.4 feet, Storage before the storm: 799,638 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 982,263 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 182,625 acre-feet, Hetch HetchyLevel before the storm: 3,729.68 feetLevel after the storm: 3,750.99 feetTotal rise: 21.31 feet, Storage before the storm: 221,500 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 257,800 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 36,300 acre-feet, Trinity LakeLevel before the storm: 2,209.55 feetLevel after the storm: 2,213.22 feetTotal rise: 3.67 feet, Storage before the storm: 648,675 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 672,930 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 24,255 acre-feet, Folsom LakeLevel before the storm: 370.28 feetLevel after the storm: 390.33 feetTotal rise: 20.05 feet, Storage before the storm: 214,225 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 318,577 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 104,352 acre-feet, New Melones LakeLevel before the storm: 916.28 feetLevel after the storm: 917.09 feetTotal rise: 0.81 feet, Storage before the storm: 822,619 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 827,786 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 5,167 acre-feet, Don PedroLevel before the storm: 723.96 feetLevel after the storm: 727.41 feetTotal rise: 3.45 feet, Storage before the storm: 970,226 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 995,836 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 25,610 acre-feet, McClureLevel before the storm: 663.70 feetLevel after the storm: 672.27 feetTotal rise: 8.4 feet, Storage before the storm: 180,900 acre-feetStorage after the storm: 198,467 acre-feetTotal storage increase: 17,210 acre-feet. So on Jan 10 were at 82% of the average for Jan 10. I like the comparisons of last year, and the historical average. So many facets beautifully chartered. As of 5pm on 1/18, the data appears correct (~58k acre feet), but an hour ago it was reading off the chart (3X above what they are allowed to store right now). Monitoring location 11275500 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. Why is it not listed? A dry January with little rainfall across much of Northern California actually didnt hurt the states water storage levels, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources. However, I am interested in how much we are saving. "Soils that have become hydrophobic due to wildfire can also contribute to increased runoff because the water is less able to penetrate the burned soil," the department said. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite National Park can store up to 117 billion gallons of drinking water that is used for the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System that provides water for 2.6 . window.addEventListener("orientationchange", function() { Thank you for the time and effort in creating the graphs. . The reservoir was at 75 percent capacity as of May 5, totaling 269,963 acre-feet of water (an acre-foot is nearly 326,000 gallons). Is that a good thing? There doesnt seem to be any site that shows the impact of each storm. Thanks for putting this together. } So its volume is counted as Orville inflow. Why is Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio not listed? San Francisco's water-bank in Don Pedro Reservoir, downstream on the Tuolumne River, holds twice as much water as Hetch Hetchy. The only improvement I would ask you to consider is to allow the Y-axis to be Linear or Log, the latter allowing us to see all the small reservoirs quite easily. Owned by the city of San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir Stay up-to-date with breaking news and upcoming events. This chart only shows reservoirs filled via natural flow/rainfall. Only modest new supplies would be required in the driest years. In response to the Bay-Delta Plan, the SFPUC and the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts have proposed the Tuolumne River Voluntary Agreement, a combination of flow and non-flow measures sufficient to improve all life-stages of native fish populations in the lower Tuolumne River. Before joining the Chronicle, Alexander worked as a freelance writer and as a staff reporter for several media organizations, including The Fresno Bee and Bay Area News Group, writing about government, politics and the environment. Since June 2011, the Water Enterprise has operated the Citys Emergency Firefighting Water System (EFWS, formerly known as the Auxiliary Water Supply System (AWSS)), an independent, high-pressure water supply system for fire suppression. Could the reason be that the water from Lake Alma or seems to be used for energy generation, and that there does not seem to be any agricultural or urban use? sends student to hospital, Heres how much rain and snow is on the way this weekend, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). https://engaging-data.com/ca-reservoir-level/ Lake Almanor isnt controlled by DWR for flood/supply. "It was a very healthy shot in the arm. The new 68-mile (109 km) railroad wound its way up the narrow canyon of the Tuolumne River past sharp curves and up steep 4% grades. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the John Muir and the scenic mountain valley in a national park. Water is such a fascinating topic and Id hate to have to be a water manager making a decision on how much to release to avoid reservoir flooding. Restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley will allow all three power plants to remain operational but will reduce power generation at these by about 20% an average of about 350 million kWh per year. Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. And while one storm didn't come close to ending the drought, some reservoirs in Northern California, especially those that fell right in the path of the storm, saw significant gains. Occasionally the source water will shift to local reservoirs during routine maintenance to the conveyance system. You can find the charts below from the California Department of Water Resources website. During late summer and early fall, it will be necessary to move stored supplies from Cherry or Don Pedro Reservoirs into the pipeline. His recent work has examined the impacts of drought, threats to public lands and wildlife, and the nation's widening rural-urban divide. A diverse mix of sources protects us from potential disruptions due to emergencies or natural disasters, provides resiliency during periods of drought, and helps us ensure a long-term, sustainable water supply as we address issues such as climate uncertainty, regulatory changes and population growth. The Bay Area portion of the System includes water collection, treatment, and transmission facilities from the Alameda East Portal to the wholesale service area and terminal reservoirs in San Francisco. Thats enough to supply the citys service area for perhaps seven years. however, Ill update the code to include it soon. Im curious why the percentage of capacity has stayed almost flat for the past 6 weeks or so and below historical average. 9 of 12 10 of 12 Hetch Hetchy Reservoir with Wapama Falls near Groveland, Calif. on Wednesday March 12, 2014, is currently at fifty percent of capacity. It would be really interesting to visualize whether were able to replenish ground water this year after all the precipitation. it will be cool if there is a way to track the change since Dec or some such date. For detailed analysis of how San Franciscos water system will operate without Hetch Hetchy reservoir, see the Environmental Defense Funds studiesParadise RegainedandCherry Intertie Alternative. The Bay Area's main reservoir is up 21 feet. It is on the graph. The blue line indicates the reservoirs water level one year ago today. The reservoir is now projected to cost $4.4 billion, with Prop. Important Legacy real-time page. Its promising, but too early to let our guard down, said Joseph Sweiss, spokesman for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the citys water purveyor, in an email to The Chronicle. Kellie has held many leadership roles for the Asian American Journalists Association, including most recently a board member for the San Francisco chapter. Nate, thanks for the insight. Partly because of low water, the rivers chinook salmon runs have plummeted from tens of thousands of fish annually a few decades ago to fewer than 1,000 in recent years. Kurtis Alexander is an enterprise reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle, with a focus on natural resources and the environment. Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. I would like to make one small suggestion:. Remaining Capacity text in the legend should be brown? May 24, 2022 - BAWSCA Statement About the Adoption of a Systemwide Water Use Reduction of 11%. The cities of Burlingame, Hayward, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Redwood City and San Mateo, along with the Alameda County Water District, were among Bay Area communities whose support was influential in persuading Congress to pass the controversial Act, and President Woodrow Wilson to sign it. With how we can now basically pinpoint future precipitation amounts at least a month in advance, no reason to not let these reservoirs fill up past historic averages for this date. Monitoring location 11277200 is associated with a LAKE, RESERVOIR, IMPOUNDMENT in TUOLUMNE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. How Fast Are California Reservoirs Filling Up? Our drinking water comes from a variety of protected sources carefully managed by the SFPUC. If you click on the list button in the top right of the dashboard, it will show a list of the reservoirs (in order of size from largest to smallest) and you can check which ones you would like to display. The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite delivers water to 2.6 million Bay Area residents every day. "Some weather monitoring stations in the Feather River drainage received as much as 12 to 19 inches during the period of the storms," the department said. The SFPUC gets the bulk of its water from a network of reservoirs in the central Sierra Nevada that have long altered flows of the Tuolumne River and its tributaries. 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YTD values are from January 1 . The gain came after weather gauges in the area recorded more than 5 inches from one storm. Only improvement I would suggest is an improvement of the display of the smaller reservoirs so the names are readable. Hetch Hetchy Level before the storm: 3,729.68 feet Level after the storm: 3,750.99 feet Total rise: 21.31 feet Storage before the storm: 221,500 acre-feet Storage after the storm: 257,800. Weve been at zero now for several weeks, and we really want to see that turn around., Kellie Hwang and Yoohyun Jung are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Exclusive: Stunning photos show Yosemite National Park under 15 feet of Warriors treating Andrew Wiggins with understandable patience, but his California snowpack hits highest level this century for March, could Map shows which parts of California exceeded entire years worth of rain, Map shows stunning improvement in California drought, Last chance to see: Bay Bridge lights turn off on Sunday. Meant this comment for the integrated snowpack and reservoir view. Therefore flood control agencies take the more conservative route and order the release of water. If you look at the inflow data on the major reservoirs, its pretty flat. Reservoir Report 4,670 ft -0.02% today 100% of normal Normal Water lake or reservoir water surface elevation above ngvd 1929, ft at Cherry Lk Nr Hetch Hetchy Ca is currently 4,670 ft, approximately 100% of normal. O'Shaughnessy Dam was built on the Tuolumne River in 1923 to create Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. To reach Hetch Hetchy, you have to exit Yosemite National Park and re-enter it. and its snowmelt-fed water supply, water from Hetch Hetchy Each row represents one reservoir, with bars showing how much of the reservoir is filled (blue) and unfilled (brown). their water supply would cost hundreds of millions of dollars at Wapama Falls (moderate) 5 mi (8 km) round-trip; 2 hours. function resizeframe(){ I notice Briones Reservoir is not on the list. California boosts water deliveries to highest level in years, thanks to storms, California reservoir levels: Charts show water supply across the state, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area.