.Water Works

The City of Santa Cruz Water Department released their Water Supply Outlook for 2011 on Jan. 26, and the gist of the jurisdiction’s water situation is this: at about halfway through the winter wet season, Santa Cruz has seen 18.3 inches of rainfall, which is 16 percent above the long-term average. The Loch Lomond Reserve is full, having received 26 inches of rain so far this year (a “water year” begins in October) and measuring 573.45 feet above sea level (just over 90 percent of its 2.8 billion gallon capacity). While the wet season began with an “early and auspicious” start, we’re now seeing a dry spell, but while “dry stretches during the month of January are not uncommon,” according to the late-January report, this stretch is lasting longer than average.