October is the start of a new Water Year (Oct. 1 – Sept. 30), and like any new year, it gives us the opportunity to reflect on the past and make resolutions for the future. Statewide, the theme of Water Year 2023 was weather whiplash. Illustrating the dramatic extremes of California’s climate, the governor’s emergency proclamations for both drought and flood were in place simultaneously in the latter part of the water year.

Here in Sonoma County, we moved from historic drought to torrential rain and even some remarkable snowfall in a matter of weeks. The rains brought much needed relief; over the last 12 months the Russian River Watershed accumulated 129% of average rainfall for the year, at 58.54 inches. Our reservoirs have maintained their highest levels of water storage for this time of year, with Lake Sonoma now at 231,122 acre-feet and 91% of water storage curve and Lake Mendocino at 76,756 acre-feet and 71% of water storage curve, a dramatic shift compared to this time one year ago, when Lake Sonoma was only at 44% and Lake Mendocino was at 64% of their target water supply curves.

Climate change is expected to amplify naturally occurring variability in the long term, potentially resulting in a shorter wet season for California but one with more extreme atmospheric river storms and potentially greater flood damage risk. With this extreme variability Sonoma Water is committed to managing our reservoirs and water supply systems strategically, using new technologies to monitor forecasts, strategically store more water in our reservoirs when it is plentiful, while also mitigating for flood conditions, and we join with our community in the effort to conserve water as a way of life, since there is never enough to waste.

Each year in October we celebrate California Water Professionals Appreciation Week, intended to highlight the important role of water industry professionals and local public water agencies in ensuring safe and reliable water, wastewater services, flood protection and recycled water in California. Engineers, biologists, chemists, mechanics, electricians, maintenance crews, administrative staff and more are all essential to our work for water supply, flood control and wastewater management. Join us as we celebrate and thank our Sonoma Water staff for their work supplying clean, reliable water all throughout the year.

Sonoma Water crews maintain more than 75 miles of flood control channels across the region, many of which were constructed decades ago as part of a critical community flood control network. The work involves sediment removal, vegetation management and bank stabilization, to ensure water can flow through these channels during the rainy season. Our teams remove debris and trash that litters these waterways, too. This work is carefully conducted to protect the environment around these channels including native plants, trees, fish, and birds, while at the same time protecting our communities from dangerous flooding. Our teams work all summer to keep these streams in good condition. The photograph below shows the before and after of our maintenance efforts recently at a segment of Colgan Creek flood channel in southwest Santa Rosa.

*FIRO is the acronym for Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations