Storage at two of the largest dams in California continues to plummet to historically low levels. Shasta Dam is down to 42-percent of normal and 26-percent of capacity. That’s about half of what it was a year ago, after the first of two below-normal precipitation winters. And it’s the same for Oroville Dam, at just 35-percent of normal and 22-percent of capacity. State Water Project Assistant Director, John Yarborough, monitors Oroville levels. He says the dry April, which also meant much warmer temperatures, triggered a rapid evaporation of the snowpack…

click to listen to John Yarborough

Yarborough says Oroville and Shasta Dams must also meet an increasingly high demand for a variety of uses, including agriculture, hydroelectric power, and recreation. As for the outlook for the upcoming rainy season, he says one good year won’t likely be enough, with so much catching up to do…

click to listen to John Yarborough

Meanwhile, compared to Oroville and Shasta, levels still look pretty good at the smaller north state reservoirs. NID’s overall storage is at 73-percent of the eight-year average and 53-percent of capacity. And at Englebright, it’s still at 99-percent of average and 109-percent of capacity. Those facilities have much less varied demand, compared to the larger dams.