Orange County captures enough stormwater for more than 300,000 people during February storms
When the water comes down too quickly, the process of getting it into aquifers for storage can't keep up.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- The winter storm that doused much of Southern California dropped lots of rain in Orange County, but how much of the runoff was captured?
The Orange County Water District said since February, it has collected enough water for more than 300,000 people to use over the course of a year.
That's largely due to a partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers at the Prado Dam, and of course, nature.
"A few weeks ago, it was looking to be like a dry season, about a month ago, and now we're above average," said Ben Smith with OCWD during an interview with Eyewitness News on Tuesday.
He said on average, this far into the water year, they see nearly 10.5 inches of water in the region, but so far, it's been more like 14.6 inches.
But when the water comes down too quickly, the process of getting it into aquifers for storage can't keep up.
"All the rain comes at once right on the surface, and it takes us time to get it off the surface down into the ground, so we are full right now," said Smith. "Our storage here in Anaheim and our available storage at Pardo Dam is full, so what would be ideal for us is a break in the storm, maybe two weeks or a month."
To prevent flooding up river at the Prado Dam - or anywhere along the Santa Ana River - the inflatable dam on the river in Anaheim had to be dropped on Tuesday to let water flow into the ocean. OCWD staff says there's only about 10 days a year on average when they can't capture all the storm flow, and they're looking for ways to collect it more efficiently.
"Our big endeavor right now is working with Prado Dam to raise the amount of water that can be stored there during a storm event," said Smith.
Officials predict with the recent storm, they'll be releasing about 4,000 acre feet of water into the ocean per day - enough for 32,000 people to use in one year.
According to an update on the February storms released last week, given the amount of rain received to date, OCWD expects to recharge even more storm water this year.
To further enhance its capture capabilities, the district is testing Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations (FIRO) at Prado Dam in Riverside County.
"OCWD's proactive water management approach ensures a reliable water supply and serves as a model to the industry," said OCWD President Cathy Green. "We will continue to do everything we can to enhance storm water capture and explore all options to increase our local water supply."
