Photos Show How Lake Shasta Water Levels Changed in a Year

Photos have revealed how the water levels of California’s Lake Shasta have changed in just a year.

The reservoir, located in Shasta County, California, is the biggest in the state and just a year ago it was in a dire situation due to the ongoing drought.

But a particularly wet winter saw the state receive an influx of rainfall and precipitation. This has provided some much needed storage for the state’s reservoirs, and now the lake is about three-quarters full.

Pictures shared by KRCR News Channel 7 show side by side photos of the lake in January 2022 and April 2023.

The photo taken in January 2022 clearly shows “bathtub rings” around the edge of the lake. These signal where the water used to be, showing just how far the water level had declined.

The picture taken in April 2023, however, shows the lake with those bath rub rings nearly completely covered, thanks to all the rainfall.

At the beginning of January 2022, Lake Shasta’s water levels were at 913.48 feet. As of April 13, it’s back at 1,051.10 feet. This marks a drastic change for the previously drought-stricken river.

“Statewide the reservoirs are generally in good shape with most at or above their historical averages and some reservoirs having to let significant water go to maintain space for floods,” Jeff Mount, a senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California’s Water Policy Center, previously told Newsweek.

Other reservoirs that were previously at very low levels are also significantly higher than their historical averages.

California’s second-largest reservoir, Lake Oroville, for example, is currently at 867.68 feet, as of April 13. At the beginning of 2022. however, it was at 714.12 feet.

This rise in water levels began in December 2022, when the wet weather started. The state then saw several bouts of heavy rainfall and storms, largely caused by atmospheric rivers.

The wet weather also caused above average snowpack to accumulate in the Sierra Nevada. While this was much needed after the state had seen such a long period of drought, the atmospheric rivers—which carry warm, tropical moisture—caused some of it to melt prematurely, leading to severe flooding.

Flooding isn’t uncommon after an area has seen a prolonged period of drought. When the ground is dry for so long, it can become so parched that when rainfall does happen, it doesn’t saturate. This can cause flash flooding.

Although the water levels at California’s reservoirs are looking a lot better than they were a year ago, experts have warned that it is only a short-term solution.

As the drought has been going on for so long, they believe it could take years of above average rainfall to fix the problem.

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