Edhat Staff
By the edhat staff
Officials scheduled water releases of Lake Cachuma Saturday morning before the next storm hit the area.
Santa Barbara County’s rainfall and reservoir summary from Friday morning showed the Cachuma Reservoir at 86.3% full and on Friday afternoon County Public Works reported it’s at 87% capacity.
It’s the first time in nearly 12 years the lake has come close to reaching full capacity.
Cachuma’s operations are controlled by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. They’ve planned to open Bradbury dam’s gates for eight days and release 2,000 cubic feet of water per second.
Smaller amounts of water will be released during a longer period of time to prevent flooding. The released water will flow through the Santa Ynez River and refill groundwater.
On Thursday the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced it will be using County Air Support to fly over the Santa Ynez and Santa Maria riverbeds broadcasting safety announcements for anyone who may be living or spending time in the area.
The announcement over the Santa Ynez riverbed stated, “Cachuma Lake will be releasing water and rain is expected for the next few days. The water levels are expected to rise. It is unsafe to be in the riverbed area. Stay out of the river. Temporary shelter is available.”
For the Santa Maria riverbed the announcement was, “Rain is expected for the next few days. The water levels are expected to rise. It is unsafe to be in the riverbed area. Stay out of the river. Temporary shelter is available.”
Officials hope that making these announcements ahead of time will urge people to clear the area and lead to fewer rescues and/or injuries.
Lake Cachuma meeting Bradbury Dam (Photo: Lael Wageneck / Santa Barbara County Public Works Dept)
Lake Cachuma after the recent storms (Photo: Lael Wageneck / Santa Barbara County Public Works Dept)
It’s great to see Cachuma at 87% capacity. It’s also important to remember that water conservation is a way of life. Even when it’s wet and raining and the lake is full, we need to protect water supplies for when it’s not. More info: https://t.co/sFvbzjEoOf. #cawx pic.twitter.com/owOlRKrEVs
— COSB Public Works (@COSBPublicWorks) January 14, 2023
Yes and there will be legally scheduled releases throughout the year. Right now the lower Santa Ynez is running bank to bank. How is additional water adding to ground water. Only so much can seep in at a time. Now with no more storms in the horizon 8 days of water at 2000 cfs are planned to be released into a swollen river. I would love someone to give a logical explanation that actually makes sense. If there is one I would happily accept.