Reservoirs drink in the rains

Local water officials hopeful for a ‘good water year’

By KERANA TODOROV
Register Staff Writer

The recent rains have replenished the county’s water reservoirs, but more is needed, said local water officials Thursday.

Napa’s water department general manager, Phil Brun, was cautiously optimistic about the wet weather.

The city’s main reservoir, Lake Hennessey, is 76 percent full, Brun said. Lake Milliken, the city’s other water reservoir, is full.

Lake Hennessey has filled up enough that on Wednesday the city re-opened the public boat launch off Sage Canyon Road for the first time since October. The city closed the boat launch Oct. 8 because low water levels forced boaters to wade into the lake to move their crafts on and off their trailers. The city of Napa does not allow people in the waters of Lake Hennessey because it is a water supply reservoir.

Still, Brun hopes more rain.

“There is still room” for more water, he said.

American Canyon, unlike the other county cities, relies almost entirely on the State Water Project for its supplies of Delta water via the North Bay Aqueduct, a state Department of Water Resources system.

On Nov. 2 the state Department of Water Resources in issued the lowest initial water allocations since 2003. The final water allocations are expected later this year.

American Canyon Public Works Director Robert Weil said he was hopeful that the rains will boost the city’s water allocation, now at 25 percent.

“It looks like it’s going to be a good water year,” Weil said.

St. Helena is retaining its water conservation measures even though Bell Canyon, the city’s main reservoir near Angwin, began spilling over Monday, said Jonathon Goldman, St. Helena’s director of public works. Bell Canyon provides 80 percent of the city’s water, he said.

“That’s certainly good,” said Goldman. “(But) I’d like to see it spilling into March or even April before we relax a little,” Goldman added.

Watering of landscaping, vineyards and fields will continue to be restricted to three times a week.

People water their lawns even when it rains, Goldman said.

In Calistoga, Public Works Superintendent Warren Schenstrom said Kimball Reservoir, which supplies half of the city’s water supplies, is full.

Calistoga, like Napa, American Canyon, and Yountville also depends on the state’s Water Project for potable water.

On Thursday, DWR announced the latest snow survey show that the snowpack levels are above normal.

“January is typically the wettest month of the year, said DWR Hydrology Branch Chief Arthur Hinojosa in a written statement, “and this month’s storms have been an excellent shot in the arm to the state’s water supply.”

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