DWR releases initial State Water Project allocation

The California Department of Water Resources announced its initial State Water Project allocation will be 10 percent of requested supplies, citing a dry start to the 2021 water year.

The California State Water project is a water storage and delivery system of reservoirs, aqueducts, power plants and pumping plants that extend more than 700 miles. Twenty-nine contractors draw water from the state project, including the city of Yuba City.

Initial allocations are based on conservative assumptions regarding hydrology and factors such as reservoir storage. Allocations are reviewed monthly and may change based on snowpack and runoff information. They are typically finalized in May.

“While we still have several months ahead of us, dry conditions persist,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth in a press release. “As communities throughout California prepare to support their environment and economies through times of extended dry periods, state agencies plan together to support those communities. Californians can help by always using water carefully, inside and outside their homes and businesses.”

Most of the state’s major reservoirs are lower than the historical average to date compared to a year ago. DWR’S eight precipitation stations throughout the north state also recorded a record-low zero percent of average rainfall in October and 53 percent in November.

The proposed 10 percent allocation amounts to 422,848 acre-feet of water of the water requested by contractors.

Last year’s final allocation ended at 20 percent of the requested water.