CA reservoirs only half full compared to last year in August

Every week U.S. forecasters update the national drought monitor, but with no rain in the forecast, California has stayed in the red for a while, making this an exceptional drought.

“As far as the drought level is concerned, we can’t get any worse — this is the highest level of drought,” said Dann Cianca, News Channel 5 meteorologist.

The California Department of Water Resources said typically this time of year the state’s water levels are around 70 million acre feet of water.

For context, one acre foot equals roughly 326,000 gallons of water.

As of this month, the DWR said we have only 40 million acre feet of water left in the reservoirs.

Overall, the reservoirs are just 50 percent full.

Although, the DWR said if we didn’t get anymore rain, California can still survive for at least a year before we run out. But, they said, that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t do their best to conserve.

The current look of the map probably won’t change much in the weeks to come because Cianca said despite the drought, it’s not rainy season yet.

“We’re going to have to be well above normal for maybe a year or two to even catch up,” Cianca said referring to rain levels.

On the Central Coast, the rainy season runs from the the middle of November to the middle of April.