1 Drought Conditions Update
Steven R. Ritchie
Assistant General Manager, Water
March 14, 2022
Ongoing Drought Conditions
• Statewide drought conditions persist.
• Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is likely to fill, but the entire storage system is unlikely to fill. • During the 2013-20 16 drought, we filled Hetch Hetchy virtually every year by debiting Water Bank. • State Water Board curtailments create significant uncertainty about how much runoff we
can store.
• The drought may extend beyond this year.
• The State is emphasizing that this is truly a statewide problem. • To date water use reduction performance is promising, but summer water use r
eduction will be the real test.
2 Governor Newsom’s March 13 Announcement
• After California recorded its driest January and February in more than 100 years of re
cords in the Sierra Nevada, the State is spending an additional $22.5 million to respond to the immediate drought emergency.
• More than a third of the money will be used to increase outreach efforts to educate C
alifornians on water conservation measures and practices. • The funds are part of a comprehensive effort to increase water conservation. Earlier thi
s month, the state launched new video ads to encourage Californians to reduce outdoor watering.
• With the additional funds, the Save Our Water campaign is gearing up to reach C
alifornians with water-saving tips via social media and other digital advertising, geo- targeting counties with high water use.
• The campaign also is securing partnerships with retailers and other organizations to u
rge Californians to reduce water use immediately and make permanent changes to landscaping to build future resilience. 3
California Drought Monitor
March 14, 2022 Reservoir Storage
Reservoir
Current
Storage1,2,3
Maximum
Storage4
Available
Capacity
Percent of
Maximum
Storage
Normal
Percent of
Maximum
Storage5
(AF) (AF) (AF)
Tuolumne System
Hetch Hetchy 296,300 360,360 64,060 82.2% 63.5%
Cherry 228,300 268,800 40,500 84.9% -
Eleanor 19,220 21,495 2,275 89.4% -
Water Bank 346,903 570,000 223,097 60.9% 99.8%
Total Tuolumne Storage 890,723 1,220,655 329,932 73.0% - Local System
Calaveras 64,843 96,670 31,827 67.1% -
San Antonio 36,377 53,266 16,889 68.3% -
Crystal Springs 43,132 58,309 15,177 74.0% -
San Andreas 16,338 19,027 2,689 85.9% -
Pilarcitos 2,708 3,030 322 89.4% -
Total Local Storage 163,398 230,302 66,904 70.9% -
Total System Storage 1,054,121 1,450,957 396,836 72.7% 81.0% Total without water bank 707,218 880,957 173,739 80.3% -
Other
California
Reservoirs
Hetch Hetchy Precipitation
7 Upcountry Snowpack
Water Available to the City
Tuolumne River Water Available
to the City
Upcountry 6-station Precipitation Index as of
March 13, 2022
Avg Annual Total: 36.68 inches
YTD Total: 19.66 inches
Bay Area 7-station Precipitation Index
as of March 13, 2022
Avg Annual Total: 22.80 inches
YTD Total: 20.35 inches
National Precipitation Forecast
Total Deliveries
Drought Tracker