Dramatic rise of Lopez Lake water level shows impact of recent rainfall

LOPEZ LAKE, Calif. -- The water level at Lopez Lake has doubled within the last weeks. It's a remarkable turnaround for the South San Luis Obispo County reservoir, which was close to the lake's all-time low level just weeks ago.

As of Wednesday, the lake is now at 51.3% capacity, a significant jump from where the water level stood 14 days earlier. On Wednesday, Jan. 4, Lopez Lake was at only 24.87% capacity, a dangerously low level only a few percentage points from the all-time low mark.

However, recent rain storms have helped refill the lake to a much healthier level. The current level is the highest Lopez Lake has reached since Dec. 2020.

"The lake is obviously a lot fuller," said Brian Wilder, Lopez Lake Supervising Park Ranger. "We are up to about 52% today. We had a little bit over nine inches in a week's time, most of that came on Monday the (Jan.) 9th, and we got about six to seven inches on that day, which is impressive."

The most dramatic visual that shows just how much water has flowed into the lake is around the marina area.

"If anyone was here when it was down to 22%, the whole boat launch ramp was completely dry." said Lopez Lake Marina employee Rick Mendoza. "You could literally walk all the way down to the bottom. Both of these docks were completely on the floor, No water was touching them at all, but now we're rising up and we have all the docks completely floating now, so it's a big difference."

There is so much water in the lake right now, it's reaching far reaches of the reservoir that have been dry for years.

"It's pretty amazing," said Mendoza. "That storm was pretty heavy, but it benefits us in many ways. Everyone likes it. Everyone wants to see it. People, the daily guests, the people that always come by, even new people. They love seeing the water level rise up. It's a beautiful thing."

While Lopez Lake is enjoying higher water levels, several other nearby lakes are actually refilling at a quicker pace.

In North San Luis Obispo County, Lake Nacimiento is now up to 88% capacity, while Santa Margarita Lake is at 104.2%

In Santa Barbara County, Cachuma Lake is currently at 93.3% According to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the operation of Cachuma Lake, it plans to release water from the reservoir into the Santa Ynez River beginning this weekend.

Wilder said Lopez Lake is filling at a slower pace due to its topography and watershed.

"Lopez is a little different," said Wilder. "We have a lot of steep canyons around the lake, but we don't draw as much water from the creeks and tributaries. A lot of the other reservoirs, they fill up quickly because the water flow is a lot quicker and they catch a lot more rainwater that comes down the tributaries."

Since all of the lake's tributaries are flowing, Wilder expects the water level to continue to rise.

"Currently, we're getting about 2% or so a day," said Wilder. "That will slow down a little bit over the next week or so, but I anticipate it will keep going up, maybe about a percent a week depending on if we get precipitation over the next month."

While the lake is benefiting from recent storms, the entire Lopez Lake Recreational Area took a beating.

"We had a lot of damage in the park," said Wilder. "A lot of mudslides, a lot of debris flow, quite a few trees down, so we've been closed for day use about a week now. We are hoping that we can open soon. It just depends on how safe the park is to use for everybody."