Dropping Water Storage at Lake Mendocino Could Mean Curtailments for 1,600

lake-mendocino
lake-mendocino

Lake Mendocino (photo courtesy of Sonoma Water)

Water rights of those on the Upper Russian River Water Shed could be curtailed by the start of August. Lake Mendocino is currently losing about 175 acre-feet of water per day standing at 28,120 acre-feet as of Friday. If water acreage drops below 26,109 acre-feet before August 1st, it will trigger a curtailment of water rights for 1600 diverters in the upper river watershed. Those diverters would be limited to 55 gallons per person per day to meet minimum health and safety standards. The Russian River provides water to more than 600,000 people served by Sonoma Water, which manages flows released from Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma.