Lopez Lake Water Level Slowly Rising After Recent Rainstorms
LOPEZ LAKE, Calif. (KEYT) - The water level at Lopez Lake is slowly rising after receiving a significant amount of rain over the past two months.
"In October, we were at about 79%," said Craig Duprey, Huasna District Supervising Park Ranger. "Now it's at about 84%."
The 5% rise in water is the result of the area seeing more than 16 inches of precipitation during the current rain season.
"The lake's in really good shape," said Duprey. "We're excited with these early rains. It's come up a couple of feet and it's really, exciting, especially for recreation. We hope to see 90% capacity. The ground right now is saturated, so any additional rain is going to relate to lake rise."
Over the past three years since the lake spilled in March 2023, the first time that's happened in 25 years, the water level Lopez Lake has remained at a consistently high level, a far cry from back in December 2022 when the level sunk to a critically low 22%.
"Over the last few years, this lake has been very stable," said Duprey. "It's only fluctuated at about 20%., so we're excited for the future here this season and we hope to see more lake rise."
The stability with the water level at Lopez Lake has meant good news for the thousands of people downstream who rely on the popular reservoir.
"Having a high lake levels crucial for a lot of reasons," said Duprey. "From a recreation standpoint, it means more surface area, so more opportunity for anglers and boaters, and then obviously it's a domestic water source for the Five Cities. That's really important with the higher lake levels."
While Lopez Lake currently enjoys a healthy level, it still is lower than a few other nearby lakes – which have reached capacity, including Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara County and Santa Margarita Lake in northern San Luis Obispo County.
"The watershed here at Lopez is not quite as big as some of the other watersheds at other local lake," said Duprey. "It does raise a little bit slower compared to some of the other lakes."
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