By Evan Symon, September 6, 2023 2:30 am /CALIFORNIA GLOBE
According to new data released by the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), average monthly residential water use sharply declined in the first half of 2023, with water stores in reservoirs and other places continuing to remain well above average.
Since the late 2010’s until earlier this year, California was under a megadrought, with 100% of the state being at least under a ‘moderate drought’ in October 2022. In some reservoirs, water stores became so low that electric generators stopped working, while others, like Lake Oroville, had water levels become so low that giant ‘bathtub rings’ of where the water level was once at became prominent features.
As a result, water restrictions were placed statewide, with some areas, such as Los Angeles, even severely limiting law watering to only a few days a week and banning self-washing of cars. Both state and local water districts went after water usage with a vengeance, with some officials even starting to mention trucking in water because of the dire situation. Many in late 2022 predicted that 2023 was just going to be another drought year, with many districts going so far as to introduce new water residential use caps for the next year in preparation.
However, instead of another drought year, 2023 became the year of rain and flooding. Several atmospheric river event struck the state in January and March, bringing down record rain amounts, flooding, and in the mountains, near record snowpack levels. Because of the rain and subsequent meltwater, reservoirs have remained at or near full brim. Lake Oroville, for example, went from a 710 foot level in June 2021 to a 900 foot full brim in June 2023. Thanks to other rain events, Lake Oroville is still above the 850 foot mark in September for the first time in years.
