Avalon exits local Stage 1 water rules

An acre foot of water is enough water to submerge 1 acre of flat land one foot deep in water. The illustration above compares an acre foot of water to a football field. Artwork courtesy Catalina Islander staff

Stage 1 water conservation is over in Avalon.

City Manager David Maistros gave the City Council the good news on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Maistros said the city was officially out of Stage 1. He said Edison had filed for the exit from Stage 1 and the exit was approved.

As the Islander has previously reported, on Jan. 17 Luke Schaner of Southern California Edison told the council that when the water level reached 750 to 800 acre feet, Edison would put pen to paper to request the removal of the system from Stage 1 restrictions.

As the Islander reported in June 2022, Stage 1 restrictions are triggered when the water level drops below 600 acre feet. (The reservoir can hold a maximum of about 1,054 acre feet of water.)

“As of February 6, 2023 the current water elevation at Middle Ranch Reservoir is 658.10 feet above sea level. This equates to a storage capacity of 753.70 acre-feet,” according to a Feb. 8 email from Southern California Edison.

“As of January 30, 2023 the current water elevation at Middle Ranch Reservoir is 657.7 feet above sea level. This equates to a storage capacity of 737.46 acre-feet,” according to a Jan. 31 email from Edison.

On Jan. 24 Edison reported the water level at 729.4 acre feet.

January rains helped replenish the local water supply.

However, the California mainland remains officially in a drought.