The Whale Rock Reservoir in Cayucos is now at 100-percent capacity and spilling following the rain that hit the Central Coast last week. It’s good news for communities that rely on the reservoir for their water supply.
The capacity of Whale Rock Reservoir is around 39,000 acre-feet and it is now the second year in a row it has spilled over. Prior to that, the last time it spilled was back in 2005 and 2006.
“Not surprising I think based on the rain but unusual. It’s been a lot of years. Besides last year, it’s been a lot of years since it’s been that high,” said Jamie Bettencourt, Cayucos resident.
Although the reservoir is spilling over, Noah Evans who supervises the reservoir says there is not an immediate need to notify residents nearby due to the low flow rate, but in the event, they do, they have plans in place.
“During spill events at the reservoir, we monitor the outflows. If it becomes a high-water event that has a possibility of affecting residents below the dam, we have mechanisms to notify them so we can be prepared for any effects that the high water could have to their residence,” said Noah Evans, Whale Rock Reservoir supervisor.
The Whale Rock Reservoir supplies water to the City of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly, California Men’s Colony as well as the community of Cayucos. Tim Alvord who lives part time in Cayucos and the other in Paso says it’s a good thing the water is at capacity.
“Well, it’s always a good thing when there’s that much rain. Having been a resident of North County for quite a while, we’ve always struggled with drought situations so I can’t think of a better scenario than Whale Rock spilling,” Alvord said.
Some residents say even with the reservoir having so much water, they are still water wise. “I think it’s hard not to be after so many years of a drought,” Bettencourt said.
Noah Evans says they always monitor incoming storms, and they would only be concerned of the intensity of the storm events or multiple storm events. “It’s all positive impacts in that the community is assured of water in the future years. At this point we aren’t worried about a drought or any sort of water restrictions that may derive from a drought,” Evans said.
Right now, the total capacity of the spill rate is less than one percent and the outflows are closely monitored by Whale Rock Reservoir staff.
