by: Sarah Alegre
SAN DIEGO – The series of storms that are moving through California are helping with the drought, but there’s still more work to be done.
Despite the ongoing rain, experts suggest while it’s beneficial, the state and the county aren’t out of the woods quite yet.
The wet weather has led to a cautious celebration for Pam Meisner with the Water Conservation Garden at Cuyama College.
The wave of atmospheric river storms, although leading to dangerous coastal flooding, has helped in her efforts to combat the statewide drought.
“We welcome any rain when it can come but as we know, rain is very scarce in Southern California,” said Meisner, otherwise known as “Smarty Plants.”
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“We get all of that snow until the summer which slowly melts over time and refills are reservoirs,” Chris Robbins explained to FOX 5 with the Vallecitos Water District.
The state also gets 50 percent of its water from the Colorado River, which according to the National Weather Service is running dry in comparison.
San Diego County has recorded nearly 4.5 inches of rain from the start of October, meaning the county is 122 percent above normal for this time of year.
“We are in a really good position compared to other parts of the state but that doesn’t mean we can continue stopping our conservation actions,” said Efren Lopez, the Water Resources Specialist with the San Diego County Water Authority.
The county has been a leader in water conservation efforts for decades and is full of smart water conservation advice to help San Diegans conserve and adopt “WaterSmart” practices.
Bottomline, snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is higher than at any time in history, with levels 257 percent above average, a significant compensation after years of little to nothing.
“It has been a drop in the bucket, basically for a whole year of no water, so we’re getting some rain now and we’re very grateful for that, but it would have to rain like it has this past month continually for almost 9 months to get us back to where we could feel comfortable about having enough water.”
