As the state’s water levels continue to meet and, in some cases, exceed yearly averages with the recent storms, the Clean Water Team releases its 2017 activity calendar.
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The recent rain and snow storms have been a welcome sight for the drought-afflicted Golden State, with the California Department of Water Resources reporting snow water content levels that are 127 percent of normal for this date.
The biggest impact was felt in the Southern Sierra area, which was recorded at 67 percent over its average for this time of year.
The Southern Sierra area includes many of the state’s precious resources with the Sequoia and Sierra National Forests. Most importantly its headwaters are used to supply hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in one of the nation’s top-producing Counties.
The recent precipitation has helped a majority of the state’s reservoirs match or exceed their historical averages. As of 01/09/17 Shasta, Millerton, Oroville, McClure, Folsom and Don Pedro reservoirs are meeting or exceeding their historical averages, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
However, Santa Clarita’s own Castaic reservoir is still sitting at only 60 percent of its total capacity, which is 25 percent below its historical average.
Get live news updates about Santa Clarita by following KHTS on Facebook and KHTS on TwitterAll throughout the year, the calendar marks various dates and weeks that are set aside for a collection of outdoor activities and opportunities to volunteer.
For fans of coastal wildlife and photography, they have the California King Tides Project Jan. 10,11 and 12. In the project, pictures are taken of the high tide each day and then submitted to help document sea levels.
For those looking to volunteer and help preserve our rivers, Sept. 17 is American River Cleanup Day, and for those who don’t mind to travel a bit, the Sacramento Area Creeks Council is sponsoring a cleanup day in Sacramento as part of Creek Week which runs from April 21-29.
For those looking to learn a bit more about citizen science, a Citizen Science for Conservation Symposium is to be held in Long Beach on March 4. On the more fun side, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is hosting free fishing days during National Groundwater Awareness Week, which runs from March 5-11.
Of course, the Clean Water Team itself offers volunteer water monitoring opportunities throughout the state, including training and technical help. Check out the calendar for details, and lots of other opportunities.
Photos of Clean Water Team volunteers monitoring water quality are featured in the calendar along with a couple of beautiful pictures of chinook salmon.
The Clean Water Team is the citizen monitoring program of the State Water Board. Clean Water Team coordinators work statewide to provide technical assistance and guidance documents, training, quality assurance and quality control support and temporary loans of equipment to citizen monitoring programs and watershed stewardship organizations.
To learn more about the Clean Water Team and how to volunteer or join a citizen monitoring group, visit here. Or check out the free calendar.
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How come we don’t have a system to divert water from rivers that overflow to lakes that are empty, especially all the lakes and reservoir here in Southern CA.