After the three driest years in California history, a wet winter this year allowed for the refilling of Diamond Valley Lake, the largest reservoir in Southern California.
The lake in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles, was refilling swiftly Monday.
Last full in 2019, the lake saw 40% of its water used the past three years, according to news reports.
“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 Water District of Southern California General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said in a statement.
Southern California residents have already begun enjoying the benefits of the influx of water. The water district lifted restrictions, in place since June, that mandated a 35% reduction in water use for 7 million people in Ventura, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
On Twitter, water officials posted aerial footage of the reservoir being refilled.
An aerial view of water refilling into Diamond Valley Lake for the first time in three years. Built in the late 1990s, DVL is the largest reservoir in #SoCal</ a>. Without this 810,000 acre-foot reservoir, the impact of the dry cycle on the region would have been far worse. #CAWater< /a> pic.twitter.com/ClUV9KTyrH</ a>
— MWD of SoCal (@mwdh2o) March 28, 2023
San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with the Central Valley, are out of drought conditions as of Thursday, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, although drought continues in the northern and southeastern parts of the state.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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