Following storms, San Francisco's water reservoirs see helpful increases in levels
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF/BCN) – Water storage levels for San Francisco residents are at significantly high levels thanks to heavy rainfall in December and January, according to data from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission.
Yosemite Valley's Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, which serves 2.7 million San Francisco customers, is likely to fill to the brim, said Steven Ritchie, SFPUC assistant general manager of water enterprise, during a Tuesday commission meeting. Its precipitation levels is above those of 1983, which was its wettest year on record.
The reservoir currently has 291,000 acre feet of water and its capacity is 360,000 acre feet, and there is a hefty snowpack in the Sierra Nevada still to travel downstream.
"That doesn't mean this year is going to be the new wettest year on record, because as we've seen in prior years, it can flatten out fairly quickly," Ritchie said. "We do see some precipitation on the horizon, but at least right now we're able to enjoy a few days of respite from the heavy rains that we've had."
Ritchie added that the regional water system's 570,000-acre-foot water bank is full as of Tuesday afternoon.
"That's really our drought cushion supply there," Ritchie said. "So having that filled up as well is really a great feeling."