December Storms Allow for Modest Increase in Planned SWP Deliveries by ACWA Staff Jan 20, 2022 Water News The Department of Water Resources today announced it is increasing the State Water Project allocation to 15% of requested supplies for 2022. Last month, due to low water levels, DWR announced that the initial allocation would cover only critical health and safety needs of the 29 water agencies that contract to receive supplies from the State Water Project. “December storms enabled DWR to convey and store water in San Luis Reservoir, which allows for a modest increase in water deliveries this year,” DWR Director Karla Nemeth stated in a DWR news release. “But severe drought is not over. Dry conditions have already returned in January. Californians must continue to conserve as the state plans for a third dry year.” In addition to the modest increase in State Water Project allocation to 15%, DWR will continue to work with its water supply contractors to address any unmet health and safety needs for 2022. The storms that occurred in October and December of last year allowed for the movement of about 380,000 acre-feet of water into the State Water Project’s share of San Luis Reservoir, according to a news release from the State Water Contractors. “We are pleased that the winter storms combined with the State Water Project’s ability to move and store water have made this increased allocation possible,” Jennifer Pierre, General Manager of the State Water Contractors, stated in a news release. “Unfortunately, this doesn’t come close to ending the drought or the risk to water supplies throughout the State. 2020 and 2021 combined were the two driest years in California’s statewide precipitation record ever, and it will take more than a few storms here or there to mitigate the impacts of multiple dry years. We cannot rely on the Sierra snowpack reservoir alone anymore. While we all continue to hope for more favorable hydrology, investments in SWP infrastructure must be aggressively pursued to ensure climate resiliency into the future.” Although DWR is making this allocation increase, it continues to plan for a third consecutive dry year. DWR will preserve as much storage as possible in Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir. Water releases from Lake Oroville will be prioritized to maintain water quality in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta, protect endangered species and meet senior water right needs. Additionally, DWR, along with its federal partners at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, withdrew the application for a Temporary Urgency Change Petition (TUCP) for February 1 through April 2022. The petition would have provided flexibility for the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project to release less water into the Delta through April 2022 to conserve limited stored water in Shasta, Oroville and Folsom reservoirs. While Shasta continues to be in a critical condition, Oroville and Folsom reservoirs are projected to meet downstream water quality needs through the spring. “The next two months are traditionally the heart of California’s rainy season,” Nemeth stated. “We need more storms to keep filling up our reservoirs to make up for two critically dry years.” Each year, DWR makes an initial State Water Project allocation on Dec. 1. Allocations are updated as snowpack and runoff information are assessed, with a final allocation typically determined in May or June. DWR will conduct the next snow survey in the Sierra at the beginning of February. Currently the statewide snowpack is at 113% of average for this date and 58% of the seasonal average.
