Less Than 1% Of Total Capacity Of 14 LA-Area Reservoirs Available For Release
Late winter in year three of an extended drought and the local picture isn’t pretty.
Urban hillsides retain a summer pallor. Eucalyptus trees are turning brown. Rings around Southern California reservoirs are signs of a water supply that’s dropping fast. Prized underground aquifers — though not visible — are shrinking from overpumping and approaching record lows. And once again, there’s no rain in the forecast.
Less than 1 percent of the capacity of the 14 dams spread across Los Angeles County is available for release, according to data from the Department of Public Works. Of the 183,000 acre-feet possible, the county has about 759 acre-feet it can release to replenish sinking aquifers — a 22-year low. (One acre foot of water is enough to supply two families in Southern California for a year.)
Seven of those reservoirs are bone dry, and one, Santa Anita Dam, is barely holding on to a green pool of shallow water. The big six: San Gabriel, Morris, Puddingstone, Cogswell, Big Tujunga and Pacoima maintain minimum volumes so as not to damage pipes and valves, said Kerjon Lee, spokesman for the county department.
EDIT
http://www.sgvtribune.com/general-news/20140215/14-reservoirs-in-southern-california-near-record-lows
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