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Metropolitan Water District begins refilling SoCal's largest reservoir
By City News Service
Following the drought-easing deluge of rainstorms that hit Southern California in recent weeks, the Metropolitan Water District on Monday announced a "major milestone" as it began refilling the region's largest reservoir for the first time in three years.
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Officials from the district — which is the wholesaler that serves some 19 million people in six SoCal counties — gathered with state officials at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet to announce "operational actions" that will "maximize the amount of water stored in depleted reservoirs and groundwater basins," the district said.
"With the help of these recent storms, and the continued efficient water use of Southern Californians, we expect this year to be able to nearly replace all the withdrawals from storage we made over the past three years," Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said in a statement.
But he also cautioned, "We need to save every drop we can for the next dry cycle, which could be even more severe than the last one."
California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot, meanwhile, said in a statement released by the district, "Our water supplies have improved dramatically after three years of record-breaking drought. While we've been blessed with abundant rain and snowfall this year, it's only a matter of time before we experience another dry cycle."
He added, "We need to press forward with Governor (Gavin) Newsom's water supply strategy for a hotter, drier future. This includes continuing to invest in facilities like Diamond Valley Lake to capture and store water during really wet winters for use during extended dry periods."
Metropolitan officials said the wholesaler relies heavily on its reserves in Diamond Valley Lake, and that "without this 810,000 acre-foot reservoir, the impact of the dry cycle on the region would have been far worse."
The lake was built in the late 1990s, and is the largest in Southern California. It is owned and operated by Metropolitan.
