Healdsburg-Area Reservoirs Full After Rains

Here’s a quick reservoir check-in from the county’s water agency, Sonoma Water. (We have our own water agency here in Healdsburg, but we pull from pretty much the same water sources, so much of their info is relevant to us.) The agency wrote in their newsletter today: “Northern California has seen its share of rain events over the last month. These storms continue to fill our local streams, rivers and reservoirs. Because Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma now use Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO), we can hold back more water in these reservoirs. As of Monday, Feb. 12, Lake Mendocino’s water storage has reached 80,881 acre-feet, a decrease of 8,343 over the last seven days, and Lake Sonoma has reached 260,836 acre-feet, a decrease of 31,602 over the last week. Once reservoir levels are in the FIRO deviation pool, above the water supply pool, the operations control shifts to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma. Both reservoirs have now exceeded the FIRO storage curve, and the Army Corps releases water for flood protection as they manage the reservoirs. Using FIRO we can effectively manage the reservoir and reserve more water supply, while also mitigating the risk of flood.” So in short, both reservoirs are fat, happy and full — and there’s plenty more rain in the forecast. You can keep track of the reservoirs in real time on the Sonoma Water website. (Source: Sonoma Water & Sonoma Water via ConstantContact)