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What's New
Water levels at some California reservoirs are on the rise, prompting California Department of Water Resources (DWR) officials to announce an increase in planned water deliveries for 27 million Californians in 2025.
Newsweek reached out to the DWR by email for comment on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
After years of drought, several reservoirs in California reached concerningly low water levels in the summer of 2022. However, an abnormally wet winter that followed alleviated much of the state's drought and replenished the lakes.
A similarly wet winter last year brought a deluge of rain to California. Reservoir water levels rose across the state, with several reservoirs nearing their capacity in 2023 and 2024, including the state's two largest reservoirs, Lakes Shasta and Oroville.
What To Know
On Monday, the DWR announced an update to the State Water Project allocation forecast for 2025. The SWP is a water storage and delivery system extending more than 700 miles, two-thirds the length of California.
Officials increased the allocation to 15 percent of requested supplies, a 10 percent jump from the initial allocation of 5 percent announced earlier this month. The SWP provides water to 29 public water agencies that serve 27 million Californians, according to a DWR press release.
As of Wednesday, Lakes Shasta and Oroville had risen 12 feet and 14 feet, respectively, since the start of December. Several atmospheric rivers have hit California this month, contributing to the rising water levels and "above-average" precipitation and snowpack, according to the DWR press release.
In 2023 and 2024, both lakes saw their steepest increases at the start of the year. However, the increases began much earlier this year, given the back-to-back atmospheric rivers that pummeled Northern California with heavy snow and rain. The atmospheric rivers began in late November, and water levels began to rise at the same time after a monthslong decline that started in May.
What People Are Saying
State Climatologist Michael Anderson in the DWR press release: "California is still in the early months of our wet season and as recent history has shown, conditions can change quickly. While Northern California has benefitted from early season storms, dry conditions in the new year can leave us with below average totals when warmer weather arrives."
DWR Director Karla Nemeth in the press release: "The past several weeks has brought welcome rain and snow to Northern California and these improved conditions have allowed the State Water Project to increase the allocation forecast to the benefit of millions of Californians. While we typically wait to provide an update until January, we felt it important to let our State Water Contractors know of the increase as soon as possible to allow them to better plan their water supply for the year ahead."
What Happens Next
The lakes will likely continue rising through the winter and spring as the snow melts and supplements the water levels.
DWR allocations are updated monthly, with a final allocation typically determined in May or June.
About the writer
Anna Skinner is a Newsweek senior reporter based in Indianapolis. Her focus is reporting on the climate, environment and weather ... Read more