Summary: Monday, March 3, 2014 Here are some facts from a recent edition of Xasáuan Today, a blog that posts interesting articles about Monterey County, and that proclaims “Nature Bats Last.” Number of months since a month of average … rainfall: 13 Amount of water that has flowed … into lakes San Antonio and Nacimiento this year: None Number of feet the water level in Lake San Antonio has dropped over the past twelve months: 92 Additional feet the water level in Lake San Antonio can drop before it reaches the “dead pool” level of the outlet pipes: 10 Combined capacity of Lakes San Antonio and Nacimiento: 729,000 acre feet Amount currently in storage: 95,330 acre feet Chance that current drought will exacerbate nearly all Salinas Valley water problems: 100% The Monterey County Board of Supervisors has held numerous closed meetings (possibly illegal meetings) in which they have discussed using an allocation of potentially available water from the Salinas River for urban uses, including new development, instead of using the water to address current overdraft and other problems. Farmers are very concerned about what’s going to happen to this water allocation, as a recent article in the Monterey County Herald makes clear. The Herald article is worth reading. Check the links at kusp.org/landuse. More Information Land Use Links Gary Patton’s Two Worlds Blog Herald Article on Farmers’ Fears Xasáuan Today – Salinas Valley Drought Index
