Lake Lagunitas, where we have already had measurable rainfall since the new rainfall year began on July 1.
Just as our fiscal year begins on July 1, so, too, does our rainfall year. And, surprisingly, we actually had measurable rainfall this month. July typically has zero inches of rain, but this July we had 0.04 inches of rain at measured at Lake Lagunitas.
Here are the current water statistics:
Reservoir Levels: As of July 23, reservoir levels are 89 percent of capacity, or 70,497 acre-feet.* The average for this date is 79 percent, or 63,144 acre-feet. Total capacity is 79,566 acre-feet.
Rainfall: Rainfall for the year ending June 30, 2012, was 40.51 inches. Annual average rainfall is 52.65 inches. The new rainfall year is just getting started, with 0.04 inches to date.
Water Use: Water use for the last seven days averaged 31.9 million gallons per day, somewhat higher than last year’s average of 30.4 million gallons per day. On a per capita basis, this year’s figure is 167.6 gallons and last year’s is 160.1 gallons (for the last seven days).
Supply Source: This past week we averaged 28.1 million gallons per day from our reservoirs and 3.7 million gallons per day from the Russian River.
Creek Releases: During the month of June 2012 MMWD released 260 million gallons, or a total of 799 acre-feet, into Lagunitas and Walker creeks in west Marin. We release water throughout the year to maintain adequate flows for the fishery per our agreement with the State of California.
Current water use and reservoir figures can be found on our homepage.
*One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.
Helpful suggestion. Include a chart or three.
Like the IJ.
I also wondered why we (and why we have a contract to) buy the greatest amount of water during the rainy season, even when we are throwing water down the spillways.
Our water has tasted musty the last three days. Has the supply source changed?
So does the actual author (you don’t say who you are and you should) bother to monitor this blog and respond to the questions/suggestions? Charlene is so good about that.
Hi, Garden with Heart.
Thank you for your comments. You can think of our contract with the Sonoma County Water Agency as a way of diversifying our water supply portfolio. Having a suite of water supply sources helps to ensure an adequate supply in times of drought. The water we import from the Russian River means more water reserved in our reservoirs for dry periods.
We take more water from the Russian River in the winter because we “rent” North Marin Water District’s pipeline to bring SCWA water into our service area since we don’t have our own pipeline. There is more space available in the pipeline in the winter when North Marin’s customers are using less water. We bring water in year round, but we are limited as to how much water we can import in the summer due to the pipe’s capacity.
The water we are “throwing” down the spillways supports endangered coho salmon and steelhead trout, which spawn downstream of our reservoirs in the winter months. Fish need water, too, which is why we are required by the State of California to release water into Lagunitas Creek to maintain adequate water flows year round.
Finally, all blog posts without an author listed are written by the staff in our Public Information Office. Please feel free to posts comments here or contact our office (publicinformation@marinwater.org) if you have questions about anything you read. We do our best to monitor comments on the blog (including forwarding comments to Charlene so she can respond directly), and we apologize for those times when we are particularly busy and not able to respond as promptly as we would like. Thanks for your patience!
Hi, Greg.
Nicasio Reservoir is experiencing an algae bloom, which is the likely culprit behind the “musty” taste you have noticed. We are currently treating the water and the taste issues should be resolved soon. The difference in taste is probably more noticeable right now because recently we had been predominantly using Kent Lake water while completing some unrelated repairs at Nicasio. Although the algae can give the water a slight “off” taste/smell, it doesn’t have any other impact on water quality. The algae is removed by filtration at the treatment plant, the water is disinfected and is perfectly safe to drink.
Hi TBM (whoever you may be),
I’ve heard all that before, and I still don’t buy it. You gave away the farm on that deal. We should be able to VERY the amount of water we buy and when. Much of the time we don’t need any more water, especially in the winter, fish considerations and all, and we should not buy ANY WATER at all. If we can’t do that, renegotiate!! IMHO.
Hi, Garden with Heart.
We appreciate your opinion and wish it were that simple. In order to ensure our rights to the water, we are contracted to pay for a certain amount each year. You can read the contract here:
http://www.marinwater.org/documents/MA4077compressed.pdf
Though it may seem counterintuitive to use Russian River water in the winter, by using that water when it is available we are able to hold more in reserve in our reservoirs for when demand increases in the summer, and as insurance against times of drought.
Your words lack any statistical analysis, and I find the whole justification built on platitudes. Forced to buy a fixed amount of water,,, whether we are throwing it over the spillways or not is irresponsible at best, and…
Forced to buy a fixed amount of gas from a strong armed supplier for a fleet of trucks, even when I reduce the fleet by 15% and reduce miles traveled per truck while owning my own refinery, all I can think about is how can this be justified? Unless, unless… they have threatened us with not selling any water/gas to us if we don’t play their game. Ever see the movie Chinatown?
NO RESPONSE IS NEEDED.