California water officials say farmers and others who rely on the State Water Project can count on at least 30 percent of the requested water amount in the coming year.
The Department of Water Resources says the initial allocation is always conservative since it’s made before the rainy season. 90 percent of the state’s snow and rain comes between December and April.
This week’s storm is giving the State Water Project an early boost and the water supply is expected to increase as more storms roll in.
The Project’s main reservoir, Lake Oroville, is at 50 percent capacity which is not unusual this time of year. Meanwhile, the mountain snowpack currently has about 58 percent of its average water supply.
The State Water Project supplies water to more than 25 million Californians in the southern and central parts of the state, and almost a million acres of farmland.