State and federal agencies report strong early water-year inflows, dynamic Delta operations
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Summary
Department of Water Resources and Bureau of Reclamation briefed the State Water Board on Jan. 6: early 2026 precipitation and reservoir storage are above average in many areas, snowpack is uneven (Northern Sierra lagging), and Delta export and OMR operations remain dynamic under fisheries and facility constraints.
State and federal water officials told the State Water Resources Control Board on Jan. 6 that water-year 2026 has begun with above-average precipitation in many places and substantially increased reservoir storage, but forecast uncertainty and a lagging Northern Sierra snowpack require continued operational vigilance.
"We're running 154% of the average for the state," Michael Anderson of the Department of Water Resources said during the presentation. He noted regional differences in precipitation and snowpack distribution, with Northern Sierra snowpack at roughly 60–70% of average and higher-elevation southern basins running above average.
Levi Johnson of the Bureau of Reclamation provided Central Valley Project (CVP) specifics, reporting strong storage gains across major reservoirs. He said Shasta is "over 3,500,000 acre foot right now" and Trinity is "over 2,000,000 acre foot of storage," and described ongoing dynamic operations, including increases in releases where inflows have returned. Johnson cautioned that Delta operations are sensitive to inflows, fisheries constraints, and facility outages.
Board members pressed Reclamation on Old and Middle River (OMR) operations. Reclamation said it targets not exceeding negative 5,000 cubic feet per second for OMR but that daily dynamics can produce more conservative actual values at times.
Jessica Bean (Division of Water Rights) summarized related outreach and compliance work on reporting: CalWaters has received more than 3,000 reports and about 4,500 user accounts; staff will hold virtual office hours on Jan. 14 and an in-person assistance event on Jan. 23 to help users meet the Jan. 31 reporting deadline.
No regulatory decisions were taken during the informational briefing; staff committed to return with follow-up information on specific reservoir drivers (e.g., Dunel/Duenal) and to maintain coordination with state and federal partners.
