The warm storms this week delivered rain up to 8,000 feet in elevation. That is sending an extraordinary amount of runoff into reservoirs. The inflow to Lake Shasta is topping 73,000 cubic feet-per-second, while Lake Oroville is receiving 63,000 cfs.
The American River, meanwhile, is nearly flowing unimpeded through Folsom Lake. Almost 40,000 cfs of water is rushing into the reservoir, while 27,000 cfs of floodwater is gushing out. Trinity Lake, which stubbornly remains at half its average supply, is seeing just 9,000 cfs of inflow.
Agencies never fully fill reservoirs in winter to maintain space for flood control. But most of the major Central Valley reservoirs have filled beyond that flood protection point—and all are now releasing water.
All major Central Valley reservoirs are releasing water
Lake Oroville is releasing 15,000 cfs of water to make room for flood control. (photo: Department of Water Resources)
