Nearby San Luis Reservoir is current at 99 percent total capacity, according to data from the California Department of Water Resources.
As of March 21, the reservoir was storing 2,024,406 acre-feet. The reservoir has a total capacity of 2,041,000 acre-feet.
Meanwhile, in San Benito County, the local Hernandez Reservoir is full, according to County Water Resources Association Conservation Program Manager Shawn Novack.
“Hernandez holds 17,000 acre-feet,” Novack said Wednesday morning. “It’s at the top, water is actually going over the spillway. The capacity is closer to 18,000 acre-feet, but with sediment and stuff at the bottom it’s been reduced.”
San Justo Reservoir, which holds imported water, is full at 10,000 acre-feet.
Although the local reservoirs are at capacity, Novack said conserving water is still important.
“Water is a long-term proposition,” he said. “We had one good wet year, which is great. But we’ve been living off our groundwater basin for the last five years. We need to recharge that and it’ll take more than one year of good rain.”
With water conservation, it’s better to be proactive and start ahead of the curve, he said.
“The state continues to grow in population, but there’s still the same amount of water. It costs money to store that water, move it and treat it. If we can cut down our usage, we can maybe delay infrastructure improvements. As far as simple residential living, cut your water use down and you can hopefully lower your bill. It’s a good thing to do.”
