Reservoirs Average as Irrigation Season Approaches

Despite an unusually dry spring, MMWD’s reservoirs are at average levels for this time of year.

Even though 2013 is continuing to be unusually dry, reservoir levels are at average levels for this time of year.

Here are the current water statistics:

Reservoir Levels: As of April 21, reservoir storage was 72,909 acre-feet,* or 92 percent of capacity. The average for this date is 72,441 acre-feet, or 91 percent of capacity. Total capacity is 79,566 acre-feet.

Rainfall: Rainfall this year (July 1, 2012 to April 21, 2013) is 38.42 inches. Last year for the same period we had 39.83 inches; average is 49.50 inches.

Water Use: Water use for the week ending April 21 averaged 25.0 million gallons per day, compared to 19.0 million gallons per day for the same week last year.

Supply Source: Last week we averaged 19.0 million gallons per day from our reservoirs and 6.0 million gallons per day from the Russian River.

Creek Releases: During the month of March MMWD released 584 million gallons, or a total of 1,792 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 agreements with the State of California.

Current water use and reservoir figures can be found on our homepage.

*One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.

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Dry Spell Continues; Reservoirs Still Above Average

The dry period that started with the beginning of the year has continued right through the month of March. Average rainfall for March is 7.39 inches; March 2013 rainfall to date is 0.82 inches. The record low of zero inches of rain for March occurred in 1923.

Our reservoir storage levels are still above average, although the gap is narrowing compared to what it was earlier in the season.

Here are the current water statistics:

Reservoir Levels: As of March 24 reservoir storage is 74,869 acre-feet,* or 94 percent of capacity. The average for this date is 72,917 acre-feet, or 92 percent of capacity. Total capacity is 79,566 acre-feet.

Rainfall: Rainfall this year (July 1, 2012 to March 24, 2013) is 36.20 inches. Last year for the same period we had 33.26 inches; average is 45.23 inches.

Water Use: Water use for the week ending March 24 averaged 20.6 million gallons per day, compared to 16.4 million gallons per day for the same week last year.

Supply Source: Last week we averaged 14.8 million gallons per day from our reservoirs and 5.8 million gallons per day from the Russian River.

Creek Releases: During the month of February 2013 MMWD released 537 million gallons, or a total of 1,648 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 agreements with the State of California.

Current water use and reservoir figures can be found on our homepage.

*One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.

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Record Low Rainfall and Above Average Storage

Yes, that’s right. We expect to set a low rainfall record this year for the January-February time frame even though our reservoir storage levels are above average. With only 2.07 inches of rain received at Lake Lagunitas since the first of the year, and no rain in the forecast for the remaining days of February, we are on track to set a new record low for January-February rainfall. The previous low of 3.43 inches dates back to 1920. Average rainfall for January and February combined is about 20 inches.

Paradoxically, our reservoir storage levels are actually above average at 97 percent of capacity today compared to the average of 88 percent. Why? Two reasons: one, we entered the rainy season last fall with above-average storage and two, we had an extremely rainy November and December. We received 29.27 inches in the last two months of 2012, nearly double the average of 15 inches for that two-month period.

Here are the current water statistics:

• Reservoir Levels – As of February 25 reservoir storage is 77,196 acre-feet,* or 97 percent of capacity. The average for this date is 70,074 acre-feet, or 88 percent of capacity. Total capacity is 79,566 acre-feet.

• Rainfall – Rainfall this year (July 1, 2012 to February 25, 2013) is 35.38 inches. Last year for the same period we had 18.45 inches; average is 38.45 inches.

• Water Use – Water use for the week ending February 25 averaged 17.4 million gallons per day, compared to 17.1 million gallons per day for the same week last year.

• Creek Releases – During the month of January 2013 MMWD released 376 million gallons, or a total of 1,155 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 the homepage of our website.

*One acre-foot is 325,851 gallons.

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Reservoir Levels Still High Despite Dry January

Reservoir levels are still well above average at 99.4 percent of capacity in spite of an extremely dry January. We received just 1.26 inches of rain this month, well below the January average of 10.93 inches. The last time we had a dry January was in 2008, when we received just 1.08 inches. This month’s rainfall is a stark contrast to the first half of the 2012/13 rainy season. By December 31, 2012, we had received 33.31 inches, compared to the yearly average of 19.64 for the same date.

Here are the current water statistics:

Reservoir Levels: As of January 27, reservoir storage is 79,082 acre-feet.* The average for this date is 64,842 acre-feet, or 81.5 percent of capacity. Total capacity is 79,566 acre-feet.

Rainfall: Rainfall this year (July 1, 2012, to January 27, 2012) is 34.57 inches. Last year for the same period we had 16.93 inches; average is 28.85 inches.

Water Use: Water use for the week ending January 27 averaged 16.6 million gallons per day, exactly the same as water use for the same week last year.

Supply Source: Last week we averaged 11.6 million gallons per day from our reservoirs and 5.0 million gallons per day from the Russian River.

Creek Releases: During the month of December 2012, MMWD released 142 million gallons, or a total of 434 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.

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Lagunitas Creek Spawner Update

by Eric Ettlinger

The holiday season is a tough time to keep up with regular spawner updates, and a lot has been happening in Lagunitas Creek over the last three weeks. Right after my previous update (12/17/12) we were hit by the second large storm of the season, which dropped over seven inches of rain. Stream flows peaked at 1,900 cubic feet per second and within a week Kent Lake began spilling. Flows have remained too high since then to conduct surveys in the main stem of Lagunitas Creek.

A pair of coho salmon spawn in Lagunitas Creek.

On December 27, the day before Kent Lake started to spill, MMWD biologists conducted a survey in the ½-mile reach between the Leo T. Cronin Fish Viewing Area and Peters Dam. They observed 28 coho and 12 new redds. Folks who visited the Fish Viewing Area around that time were lucky enough to witness the best salmon viewing in the last few years.

To date we’ve counted 320 live coho and 170 coho redds, which are the highest counts for early January since 2006. More than half of the redds found so far have been in San Geronimo Creek and Devil’s Gulch, where we’ve documented 49 and 42 coho redds, respectively. By the end of this week we’ll be able to once again survey the main stem of Lagunitas Creek, where we expect to find quite a few more coho redds.

MMWD fisheries intern Ariana Chiapella of the AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards Project prepares to collect tissue samples from a spent female coho salmon.

The timing of spawning this season has been consistent with historical trends (see chart), so within the next three or four weeks coho spawning should essentially be over. But as coho decline, steelhead spawning will ramp up. We observed live steelhead for the first time last week in San Geronimo Creek. Steelhead spawning typically peaks in mid-February and continues through April. This year we’re expecting an above-average steelhead run to return to the Lagunitas Creek Watershed.

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MMWD Reservoirs Reach 100 Percent Capacity

This year’s early, heavy rains have produced substantial runoff, bringing MMWD reservoirs to 100 percent of capacity. Water is now flowing over the spillway at Kent Lake, the district’s largest reservoir and the last to fill. In the past 20 years, the reservoirs have filled to capacity in December three other times: 2010, 2005 and 1996. More typically, the reservoirs reach their highest levels in late March. Here are the current water statistics:

Reservoir storage as of December 28

Reservoir Levels: As of December 28, reservoir storage is 100 percent of capacity, or 79,566 acre-feet.* The average for this date is 72 percent, or 57,377 acre-feet.

Water Use: Water use for the week ending December 23 averaged 16.0 million gallons per day, somewhat lower than last year’s average of 18.4 million gallons per day. Last December was unusually dry.

Supply Source: Last week we averaged 10.6 million gallons per day from our reservoirs and 5.4 million gallons per day from the Russian River.

Creek Releases: During the month of November 2012, MMWD released more than 300 million gallons, or a total of nearly 1,000 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.

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Lagunitas Creek Spawner Update

by Eric Ettlinger

The deluge we received earlier in the month (more than ten inches of rain over eight days) raised Lagunitas Creek stream flows to their highest level since 2006. On the downside this may have scoured some early coho redds (and washed the eggs away), but on the upside the high water seems to have cleaned much of the streambed of accumulated fine sediments. In many places the clean gravel looks like a blank canvas on which coho are now creating their redds.

Huge male coho carcass

Before I wax poetic on all the wonderful things the flood did for the creek (you should see the debris jams!), let me get to the fish numbers. In the last two weeks coho were seen spawning throughout the creek, and in numbers not seen in six years. MMWD biologists counted 66 coho redds, including 39 in Lagunitas Creek, 15 in accessible areas of San Geronimo Creek, and 12 in Devil’s Gulch. We also counted 130 live coho and found four carcasses (including the impressive male pictured here). To date we’ve counted 160 live coho and 80 redds, which is above average for mid-December (click here to see chart). This run is shaping up to be a huge improvement over the parent generation, which spawned three years ago. Only 67 coho were seen that entire season. This year’s coho are unlikely to match the runs of their grandparents (2006-07) or great-grandparents (2003-04), but it’s been a long time since a Lagunitas Creek coho run could be described as even “above average.”

Other notable observations from recent surveys included a school of 14 coho holding in a pool in San Geronimo Creek, and possibly the largest coho redd I’ve ever seen, measuring 27’ by 19’. Mid-December is usually the peak period for coho spawning in Lagunitas Creek, with spawning tapering off through January. Typically two-thirds of coho spawn after the peak week, so it’s likely that many more coho have yet to spawn and there will be plenty of opportunities to see them do it.

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Is Iggy Wasting YOUR Water?

Believe it or not, we see this culprit at work every day during the winter in Marin, wasting water and running up water bills. Don’t let this happen to you!

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The Coho Run Has Begun!

by Eric Ettlinger

The 2012-13 spawning season is off to an auspicious start. We’ve already received 12.5 inches of rain—far above average for this time of year—and with the rains come the salmon. The first coho salmon of the year were seen on Sunday near the Leo T. Cronin Fish Viewing Area. Today we saw two of these fish actively spawning on a fresh redd. Another redd was seen yesterday in Samuel P. Taylor State Park that had characteristics typical of a Chinook (king) salmon redd, including a deep pit and sharp edges. Chinook salmon typically spawn at this time of year but we haven’t seen Chinook spawn in Lagunitas Creek since 2008. We’re excited by the possibility of Chinook spawning, but we need to see a fish before we can conclude that Chinook have actually returned to Lagunitas Creek.

Most of Lagunitas Creek is still running high and brown after last night’s rain, but salmon spotting should get easier over the holiday weekend. Happy Thanksgiving!

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Good Start to 2012-13 Rainy Season

Rainfall measured at Lake Lagunitas July 1 – November 20. Average annual rainfall (July 1 – June 30) is 52.65″.

The 2012-13 rainy season is off to a strong start, with recorded rainfall already above average for the year to date. As of November 20, rainfall at Lake Lagunitas measured 10.96 inches while average is 7.40. Total rainfall last year on the same date was 7.29 inches. Here are the current water statistics:

Reservoir Levels: As of November 20, reservoir storage is 74 percent of capacity, or 59,104 acre-feet.* The average for this date is 64 percent, or 51,096 acre-feet. Total capacity is 79,566 acre-feet.

Water Use: Water use for the week ending November 18 averaged 17.8 million gallons per day, slightly lower than last year’s average of 18.3 million gallons per day.

Supply Source: This past week we averaged 12.3 million gallons per day from our reservoirs and 5.5 million gallons per day from the Russian River.

Creek Releases: During the month of October MMWD released 266 million gallons or a total of 817 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.

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