It’s official: the storage in Lake Cachuma, normally the main water source for the South Coast, is setting new records for historic lows.
The previous low of 27,900 acre-feet of water in Cachuma was reached in February 1991. Within weeks, a series of deluges known as the March Miracle brought more than 18 inches of rain, filling and spilling the lake over Bradbury Dam and ending a five-year drought.
This year, no such miracle is remotely likely, at least until the rainy season begins – if it begins. As of Thursday, Cachuma storage is at 27,340 acre-feet, or 14 percent of capacity. Next month, it is expected to drop to about 10 percent capacity with a big release to downstream users.