Action taken in close coordination with federal, state and local agencies
SHASTA LAKE, Calif. – Early February storms are causing high runoff inflows to continue into Northern California reservoirs. Reclamation is increasing water releases into rivers from some Central Valley Project reservoirs for flood control management.
The flood control management operations are coordinated to maximize hydropower production from Central Valley Project facilities. Concurrently, the federal pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay-Delta are currently operating at maximum capacity and storing water in San Luis Reservoir to support south-of-Delta delivery to farms, communities, and wildlife refuges when needed later this year.
Releases from Shasta Reservoir into the Sacramento River will be incrementally increased to 60,000 cubic feet per second on Friday as part of flood control operations, Reclamation announced today. The flood control management releases, currently at 30,000 cfs, will reach 40,000 cfs at 2 p.m. Friday then 60,000 cfs at 10 p.m. The increased releases, regulated by Keswick Dam, downstream of Shasta, are expected to last at least through the weekend and may be adjusted further next week.
On the Trinity River, releases from Lewiston Dam will increase from 1,500 cfs to 3,500 cfs on Friday. Releases from Whiskeytown Dam are holding at 300 cfs with overall flows into Clear Creek around 1,500 cfs (current spillway flow is approximately 1,200 cfs and projected to slowly recede).
Shasta Reservoir has risen more than 22 feet since Jan. 31 as the latest atmospheric river contributed significant inflow. All releases from the reservoir are done in close coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state, and local agencies.
For more information on reservoir conditions, please visit the California Data Exchange Center at https://cdec.water.ca.gov/stage_maps/uprsac_0hr.html
