Avalon’s water level continues to increase. That’s news only in the sense that it is important. Many if not most Islanders know local Stage 1 water restrictions have ended.
“As of February 13, 2023 the current water elevation at Middle Ranch Reservoir is 658.50 feet above sea level,” according to a Wednesday, Feb. 15, email from Southern California Edison.
“This equates to a storage capacity of 770.09 acre-feet,” according to Edison.
“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 Edison email.
As the Islander reported last week, City Manager David Maistros told the City Council that Stage 1 water conservation was over in Avalon during the Tuesday, Feb. 7, council meeting.
“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.
On Jan. 17 Edison’s Luke Schaner 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.
Much of the state, however, remains in various stages of drought.
A look at the Drought Monitor map on page 7 shows Catalina Island in a moderate drought area of California. Some of the Channel Islands are shown in abnormally dry areas.
