A California lake is inching closer to spilling over for the first time in more than a quarter of a century after an incredibly wet winter.
Lake Casitas, in the Ojai Valley around 90 miles up the coast from Los Angeles, was at 96.2 percent capacity as of Wednesday April 3, according to data from the Casitas Municipal Water District.
The data also reports that the lake is a -3.37 feet distance from spilling over. When full, the lake is able to hold up to 238,000 acre feet of water. It is currently holding 228,863.
The Lake Casitas Dam was constructed in 1958 and now forms the reservoir. In 1978 it reached full capacity and spilled over. However, it has now not spilled over since 1998.
In recent years, the lake has been at extremely low levels due to California's prolonged drought. Years of below average precipitation meant that all the state's reservoirs, not just Casitas, were suffering. This was extremely worrying for the state's water supply, which relies heavily on water storage in these reservoirs, which are fed by snowmelt from the surrounding mountains.
However, 2023 was an extremely wet year for the state. A series of intense winter storms unleashed a deluge of rainfall and snow which accumulated a record amount of snowpack to the region.
In the spring of 2023, this snowmelt drastically improved the water levels across all reservoirs in the state. Many of them even reached full capacity.
And this year looks to be another good year for the state's water supply. In April, the total snowpack levels measured 110 percent of normal, marking a huge comeback.
Since January this year, California has been battered with winter storms. A series of atmospheric rivers made landfall on the state from the end of February into early March, followed by a rare blizzard that increased snowfall in the Sierra Nevada.
Atmospheric rivers are corridors of concentrated, tropical moisture that travel through the atmosphere. They transport this moisture from the equator toward the North and South Poles, and when they arrive, they cause a deluge of rainfall.
This is why the lake is now edging closer to spilling over.
The lake provides drinking water for those living in the Ojai Valley and other areas of Ventura County.
Mary Bergen, a Casitas board member, told local news outlet the Ventura County Star that "it is wonderful" to see the lake with high water levels again with a "good water supply."
It was not long ago that local residents were being made to adhere to strict restrictions, in order to conserve as much water as possible.
Throughout this year, the globe is seeing an El Niño weather pattern, meaning wetter weather on the West Coast is expected. However, last year was a complete anomaly. Some experts are putting the changes in weather patterns down to climate change.
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Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Robyn White is a Newsweek Nature Reporter based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on wildlife, science and the ... Read more
