Local lake levels rising slightly after recent rainstorm

LOPEZ LAKE, Calif. -- Local lake levels are on the rise ever so slightly after recent rainstorms drenched the Central Coast this past weekend, as well as earlier this month.

At Lopez Lake near Arroyo Grande, the lake measured 22.9% of capacity on Monday morning.

"It went up pretty close to a percentage point, which in December is very welcomed," said Brian Wilder, Lopez Lake Supervising Park Ranger. "Typically, we get a lot more rain usually in January, February, March time, so to get this much lake rise is a welcome sight."

Wilder said the lake experienced quite of bit of inclement weather overl the weekend, especially on Saturday.

"Lot of wet stuff coming down and a lot of swirling wind," said Wilder. "Rain was coming in every direction, sideways often at times. t was a welcome sight. We had pretty close to three inches out here."

With three inches of rain over the past couple of days, combined with earlier rains from the past several days, Wilder added now conditions are ideal for a more significant rise in the lake level.

"When we get a lot of the light rainstorms here, it really just greens up the hillsides here and looks nice, but as far as getting lake rise, it really doesn't do a whole lot because the ground soaks it all up, said Wilder. "The ground has really reached a point to where it's soaked up everything that it's going to, which causes a lot more runoff, so we're basically primed to get a lot of lake rise. We just need Mother Nature to do its thing."

In Northern San Luis Obispo County, Lake Nacimiento experienced a big jump up in capacity. According to a Monterey County Water Resources Agency report, it's capacity swelled from 18% to 25%. In addition, its elevation moved from 720 feet to 731 feet.

Near Santa Margarita, Salinas Reservoir (Santa Margarita Lake) has jumped in capacity from 49.7% to 56.3% in just the past two days.

In Santa Barbara County at Cachuma Lake, the lake level measured at 31.5% of capacity, a small rise of .4% from a low of 31.1% two days ago.

Further south Ventura County, Lake Casitas has risen slightly, from 30% at the beginning of the month to currently 30.3%.

Despite the modest increases at some of the area's reservoirs, the bump up in lake levels still is a step in the right direction during the persistent drought that has gripped the Central Coast, as well as the rest of California for more than a year.

"We're really encouraged that it's December and we're seeing this kind of rainfall," said Wilder. "Most of the ranger staff here knows if we don't get full saturation in the ground, runoff is not going to happen, so to have that in December is encouraging. We'll just have to see what's in store around the new year."

Now, fingers are crossed many more storms will soon follow, allowing Central Coast lakes and reservoirs to fill up.

"Hopefully, we'll get 35 inches," said John Van Otterloo, Lopez Lake Marina Owner. "Five years ago, we got 35 inches and it came back up to 60%, so 22% is not a whole lot to work with going forward. Anything and everything is a real treat."