Lake Cachuma

[MikeR]

Gibraltar Reservoir, upstream of Cachuma, is now at 100% capacity. Earlier in the week it had been 4.6' below full pool. The watershed is still producing run-off. This is great news as once Gibraltar fills, it becomes a "pass through" and we should see Cachuma rise at a more rapid rate with any remaining storms this season. There's a long way to go however.

Cachuma bottomed at 7% according to the State Water website but honestly it had to have been near 6% before inflow numbers increased and the lake storage numbers began to grow before the storms began, indicating they had turned "the spigot" on or possibly bought some water. They are connected to the State Water project and are required to buy water on a yearly basis to support the construction of the project. They were cut off or had their allotment greatly reduced during the last few years due to the drought conditions.

The lake is up to 11.9%, a very low number, but there might be some hope if the current weather patterns hold up now that Gibraltar Reservoir is full.

The miracle on the Central Coast and Central Valley and North is still going strong.

Lake Isabella, 37%, 132% of historical averages and snow pack on Mt. Whitney, which feeds the Kern, that feeds Isabella, is very good right now. Inflow from the Kern is nearly 6 times what it was December 2016. It should fill this year at the rate it is going now as long as we can get a few more storms.

The water level in most creeks in North Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey County is good and they are still flowing today:

Salinas Reservoir, better known as Lake Margarita Reservoir is now just under 70%!
Lake Lopez, 33.9% a little weak, not sure why. (Maybe Feds involved here too).

San Antonio -24%
Nacimiento - 79 % and should be at 80% by the weekend.
However this notice was just posted on the County website regarding Naci and S.A.:

Releases are being made from Nacimiento Reservoir to enhance adult steelhead migration conditions in the Salinas River. Releases are part of an adaptive management approach being followed in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service (THE FEDS) to conserve steelhead in the Salinas River watershed. Releases from Nacimiento Reservoir up to 460 cubic feet per second (cfs) were authorized by the Monterey County Water Resources Board of Directors on January 17, 2017. Releases from San Antonio Reservoir are expected to remain at 3 cfs.

Lakes further South:

Cachuma - 11.9%
Casitas - 36.7%*

*Ventura and a number of Ventura County water districts/agencies are now considering hooking up to the state water project as Santa Barbara had done with Cachuma years ago. This includes the Calleguas Municipal Water District, United Water Conservation District (Piru), and CASITAS Municipal Water District. Last year alone the city of Ventura paid $1.5 million to the state to help maintain the State Water project which holds open their option to "hook up" at some time if deemed feasible. They have been paying for that ability or right for 35 years but never acted until now. The study and it's cost $653,000+ shared between the 3 or 4 entities, was approved by Ventura's City Council in a 7-0 vote. For Casitas this could only mean good things as a small amount of pressure will be taken off the lake when another source is available. Of course, if the FEDS hadn't meddled with Casitas, and had established a more reasonable diversion policy, Casitas would be in much better shape today.

Mike

[mark poulson]

Once again, great report!

[WRB]

What is the Lake Casitas water level following the recent storms? It's my understanding that the Robles diversion dam has not diverted water to lake Casitas.
Tom

[MikeR]

What is the Lake Casitas water level following the recent storms? It's my understanding that the Robles diversion dam has not diverted water to lake Casitas.
Tom

Word has it that they weren't prepared for the brush and debris in the river and delayed opening the diversion canal until they figured it out.

Lost opportunity and what a price to pay. How many surface acres could have been captured and were lost to lack of preparation? VC Star said Casitas will be dry in 4 years at the current rate of use and the lack of run-off if they don't have a back up plan in effect such as connecting to the state water project.

Mike

[poacher]

they should give you a sticky for Lake level updates

[MikeR]

they should give you a sticky for Lake level updates

I've got more.... I spent Sunday through Tuesday in Cambria and the Paso Robles area with the wife, no fishing. The area is completely saturated. Every hill was leeching out water. Every road side creed was flowing. It was Ireland West, green as you can imagine.

Stopped at Lake Margarita on the way back. The boys up north probably don't want me to post this but the lake looked awesome. I think it's 74% full this morning and the Salinas river is still running into it. Water is murky, cold (under 55 in places). I spoke with one angler getting off the water at about 2:30 pm and he said it was tough, he never got bit. Kind of expected with the amount of water that it just ingested. Fish are probably in shock and spread out until it settles down.

I spoke with the Ranger on duty and asked about us "Southers" heading north to fish and what, if any, quarantine would be in effect. His response "None. Same day inspect and launching is allowed as long as your bone dry. "Dry as a popcorn fart" as Dave Poolman would say. They will tag you on the way out. He said tags were honored at Nacimiento last year and visa versa, but this year that might have changed. I'm supposed to be getting a phone call from his boss to clarify.

Lopez's watershed did not receive the amount of rainfall the areas north of them did but it got a healthy amount and the lake is still receiving run-off. It came up a little over a foot this last 7 days and is at 34.8%. The historical data is tough to find on SLO website but it has come up from the 20% range this year.

When we drove by Cachuma, the Santa Ynez river was still running into the lake. It was nice to see. It is continuing to increase in size but not very quickly. The lake is still in the channel all the way to the marina area. No coves. The storm today isn't producing much up here but hopefully the next couple of storms will. With Santa Barbara in the process of rebuilding their desalinization plant, I don't believe they will buy any water from the State Water project to fill Cachuma except for what they are required per their agreement with the State. I'm pulling permits at SB City hall next week and will check with public works to see what is in the plan this year and post it here.

Meanwhile......Castaic is filling up. They turned the spigot on and haven't stopped for over a month. Filling it with water that goes through, and was stored in, two quagga infested lakes( Pyramid and Elderberry), and emptying Folsum at the same time. Just kidding about Folsum, but the water apparently comes from Folsum and they have been dumping water at Folsum to where it is now at 40%. All the lakes up North are in "dump mode", dumping water in anticipation of the upcoming snow melt and to maintain control of the water so as to prevent flooding I guess.

I'm just glad to see water as most of us are. It will take a while for the lakes and fish to recover but at least most of the lakes will be fine. Casitas is still a concern. We still have almost 2 more months of the "rainy season" and Casitas could get enough to add another year to the 4 years the experts say is left.

Mike

[Dave Poolman]

Well this is Popcorn Fart in the flesh Enjoy your water updates. Keep em coming, hope all is well.

[WRB]

What is the Lake Casitas water level following the recent storms? It's my understanding that the Robles diversion dam has not diverted water to lake Casitas.
Tom

Word has it that they weren't prepared for the brush and debris in the river and delayed opening the diversion canal until they figured it out.

Lost opportunity and what a price to pay. How many surface acres could have been captured and were lost to lack of preparation? VC Star said Casitas will be dry in 4 years at the current rate of use and the lack of run-off if they don't have a back up plan in effect such as connecting to the state water project.

Mike

Thank you for the update. It sounds like the same excuse given why they couldn't clear brush from Arrow Island to re build the luanch ramp and parking lot on top of the island. The environmental group claims the brush is home to migratory water fowl and local birds, the brush removal would destroy habitate. Birds don't nest in winter, they will simply move.
Morons!
Tom

[MikeR]

Well this is Popcorn Fart in the flesh Enjoy your water updates. Keep em coming, hope all is well.

Hey brother! All's good. That was one of the funniest things said to Russ Baggerly and the group of Casitas honchos at that meeting years ago Dave, never forgot it. I'm hoping the next storm targets Ventura a little more directly. Casitas is getting the s#*t end of the stick with regards to all this year's rain and storms.

Castaic..... 88% and fishing tough. Got my a$$ handed to me last weekend, but MAN is it nice to see all that water. Thanks for sharing NorCal!! Lake should stabilize and get good quick as soon as it's full or they slow down the inflow. At 1 to 2 feet a day or more it will be full in a week. Heck, it's come up over 1/2' today. Water that traveled directly through a quagga invested lake, yet: Don't let those bass boats come in from Pyramid without an 8 day quarantine! WTF!!!!! Nonsensical BS.

On to more positive topics..... (except for Casitas).

Lopez is at 42.9% and climbing. Their watershed, like ours here, has been missed but they got hit good with the last storm, coming up just over 8.5' this week alone.

Margarita spilled a few days ago and is at 105%!!!!! Clean and Dry and your in according to the one Ranger but I would call ahead to be sure. I fully expected an inspection and quarantine would have been the policy but I'm not going to argue. Just check first if you go.

Naci at 85%. They increased the release 10 fold, but did reduce the outflow yesterday to 400cfs. They'll probably increase again today. Frickin' ludicrous! It''s like gambling with the future. Just wait until it gets close to filling and then put the controls in to prevent potential flooding, lets say 92%, then start managing it closer to the vest. I know property damage could soon become a concern if this continues. You see what's happening at Clear Lake now with Dan's posts.

Cachuma is at 14% and climbing. The next storm looks like it will give them significant run-off, but unless the we get a number of storms through March, I don't think we can expect more than 30% to 40% capacity after the season is over, but who knows, we've seen the March Miracle before when Casitas filled quite a few years ago.
Here's the link to the lake's web cam. http://cosb.countyofsb.org/pwd/pwwater.aspx?id=41992 . The last picture posted is 2-5-17 looking at Jack Rabbit Flats and East. Looks like a sailboat and bass boat are docked at a dirt road ramp. Not sure if there is any launching. The picture was being updated on a daily basis. Not sure if the recent rains impacted it.

Isabella is looking good. 48% and climbing daily. They have been on the Southern end of all the latest storms and have a good amount of snow pack still to come down the hill when things warm. Here's a link to the website with web cams of Mt Whitney, University Peak, and Mt. Williamson. They've got a boat load of snow pack. http://www.whitneyzone.com/wc_notes.htm

Let's just hope Casitas gets a good dose and beats expectations. It's at 37.4% now, up from 35.2% or close to that, I don't have access to my files here at work. It's still rising with water still being diverted from Ventura River as of last night from a video Rich Tauber posted on his FB page.
Here's a link to the Casitas website: https://www.casitaswater.org/lower.php?url=lake-level .

4 years and done for Casitas if we continue down the same path according to the VC Star report. The water agencies have been IGNORING the advice of experts for years. This is an above average year for rainfall and the lake has not come up significantly as others up and down the State have. I believe it's come up between 2 and 3 feet this year. Their graph is weak. I'm unable to go back and see any data beyond a week. I've been taking screen shots since January and will post numbers later when I have access to that file. Ventura must hook up to the State Water project to prevent the loss of Lake Casitas as we know it or knew it. Maybe Mother Nature will step in. I know that's not popular with our Northern brothers, but this year, with the excess water they've got, they can share a little!

Mike

[mark poulson]

Once again, that's for the great report!

[MikeR]

Correction to Santa Margarita inspection policy!!!!

I just got a call from the Ranger at Salinas Reservoir... Santa Margarita Lake.

Any boats coming in that have fished Castaic or Pyramid will be inspected, banded, and are on quarantine for 30 days.

I knew it was too good to be true!

Mike

[MikeR]

https://cosantabarbara.app.box.com/s/b4 ... 45605445/1

Copy and paste or "click" the link for this mornings webcam shot of Cachuma.

Cachuma 16% up from 7% earlier this year and still climbing daily.
Lake Lopez 45.1% and still climbing.
Casitas 37.6% (up from 35% and change). Still climbing slowly.

More storms coming that hopefully target us further South and give NorCal a rest for a while.

Mike

[WB Staff]

Pic from above post.

[MikeR]

I left Ventura for Tuscon on Friday just as the storm was starting here. Man I hated missing this one. What a gully washer! The CDEC water report for Cachuma hasn't been updated since last Friday but I found some information through some news reports.

Cachuma is now only 40% having risen 30' from the last storm/storms. A link to a recent TV station's report is below along with a very current picture of the lake. Absolutely amazing!

http://www.ksby.com/story/34550431/cach ... cent-storm

They expect the lake to rise another 10' from the current run off being produced from their watershed without any more rain, anticipating it to be near 50%. They were working on getting the boat ramp open when the report was made.

Lopez is over 50%.
Margarita 101+%
Nacimiento 83%. The Monterey Water Resources Dept. hasn't updated since last Friday. They dropped it 4% to 83% as of last Friday. It was climbing everyday prior to the storm.
San Antonio 36%
Casitas now at 42.1%
Isabella is 60%

We finally got the direct hit we needed here in Ventura, however, many opportunities to capture more water were lost.

See below. KABC LA interviewed Mauricio Guardardo from the United Water Conservation District (Piru). He touches on the nonsensical regulations handcuffing the water managers from capturing more water while water pours downstream to the ocean behind him. NOAA and the steelhead regulations give one fish (the average number of steelhead counted per year as stated in the interview), priority over people, business, and the agricultural needs of the community.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhkCrGpbtCg


Mike

[Dave Wilson]

As far as the Santa Clara River and steelhead go: the federal response to only capturing the image of one adult swimming up the river through the fish ladder/year can be summed up hence" The fish ladder is off to the side of the freeman diversion dam and is too hard for the fish to find." The state has said that any salmonids in the rivers, streams are to be considered as steelhead. There must be some spawning activity, as we used to find young of the year in our trap, and a few smolts also. My bosses used to snorkel to count fish. Soo, as long as the Federal and state wildlife agencies have legislation for releases of water, Lake agencies in the Ventura County area have their hands tied when trying to fill/keep lake levels up. It hasn't helped to have a rapidly increasing population using our limited water supply either. I really think since Ventura has paid millions into the state water system for decades, that we better hook up. Or, at least send a fleet of giant water tankers to help out flooding rivers lower their levels. In the mean time, keep raining. About 10 more big events may fill us up.

[WRB]

The salmonoids that manage to find thier way south of point Conception need River flooding conditions only to be stranded when the water turns to sand. The 6 million $ Casitas fish ladder built over a decade ago hasn't ever had a salmon or Steelhead in it, the lake must be filled to use it.
Does anyone know which luanch ramp is open at Casitas now?
Tom

[MikeR]

The salmonoids that manage to find thier way south of point Conception need River flooding conditions only to be stranded when the water turns to sand. The 6 million $ Casitas fish ladder built over a decade ago hasn't ever had a salmon or Steelhead in it, the lake must be filled to use it.
Does anyone know which luanch ramp is open at Casitas now?
Tom

I believe launching is now back to the Santa Ana creek side of the lake, through the parking lot down the partially paved and dirt road straight towards the dam, where it was before they moved it to the Coyote side. I got a text today saying that 20 boats launched and the launch ramp has bushes growing on it. The two paved ramps are still not usable. There is still a long way to go to fill the lake and no real rain forecast for 15 days for the Ventura area.

Mike

[WRB]

Trying to call the Casitas lake or ranger hasn't worked for awhile unless you need to make an appointment for boat inspection. I don't have a 4 wheel drive tow vehicle and don't want to get stuck in mud. Fishing should be getting good so maybe I will take a chance.
Thank you Mike.
Tom

[benarsenault]

Thanks for the helpful info, Mike! Definitely more informative than the information I got from the guy in the booth at the entrance to Casitas. I'll keep an eye out for your posts in the future!

[MikeR]

Thanks for the helpful info, Mike! Definitely more informative than the information I got from the guy in the booth at the entrance to Casitas. I'll keep an eye out for your posts in the future!

You can thank Dave Wilson for the information..... He sent me a text regarding launch ramp information while he was up there the other day.

Let's keep our fingers crossed for one or two more storms so you guys can start launching off of one of the cement ramps at Casitas.

There are at least 3 storms right now stacked in the Pacific coming out of Asia... the Taiwan, Japan, Korea area. If you look on the weather.com website and click on the radar, then click on "Future", and then back out of the view to see the entire Pacific. You can see the storms starting/spawning out that area. All the storms this year started there. Hopefully they won't shift up North and will come straight across to Central and Southern California and not Northern California, Canada or Alaska.

Mike

[benarsenault]

Thanks again, Mike! And thanks to Dave Wilson if he's on here. I'll be praying for rain in Ventura!

[mark poulson]

The salmonoids that manage to find thier way south of point Conception need River flooding conditions only to be stranded when the water turns to sand. The 6 million $ Casitas fish ladder built over a decade ago hasn't ever had a salmon or Steelhead in it, the lake must be filled to use it.
Does anyone know which luanch ramp is open at Casitas now?
Tom

That was just a ladder to higher office for the elected water board members.

[MikeR]

Thanks again, Mike! And thanks to Dave Wilson if he's on here. I'll be praying for rain in Ventura!

90% chance on Sunday morning!

Mike