Water supplies very low

Santa Barbara County’s water supplies are 49 percent of the normal level for this time of year, and the state is also coming up short on rainfall.

With the first three months of the year coming to an end this weekend, water experts say the fall months started off wet, but the last part of winter was very dry.

They do expect to see an increase in water levels from the snow pack runoff, but it won’t be enough to salvage a lower than normal year.

Farmers are especially worried about the water supply and their irrigation needs for the upcoming crops.

In the Santa Ynez Valley, Lake Cachuma is 25 feet below the spill level at Bradbury Dam.