Don’t run out and buy a 24-foot deep vee, but there is some reason for optimism following this past week’s series of winter storms in western Riverside County.
Okay, it was just inches at ground zero. According to the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District (click here) the Elsinore level rose about .23 of a foot, or nearly 2 1/2 inches.
That’s not much, but when you consider the lake is about 3200 surface acres, that was more than a spritz. Remember, all of it was runoff (everything below Canyon Lake Dam and all the drainage on the east as well as everything off the mountains on the west).
Much more important was the dramatic rise in the level at Canyon Lake. Fed primarily now by little Salt Creek (pictured above near Newport Rd.) Canyon Lake went from 1,375.83 on Dec. 8 to 1377.19 yesterday. That 1 1/3-foot raise puts it about 4 1/2 feet below the spillway–over which the water can eventually find the natural lake downstream.
Of course, that rate of rise should increase when the San Jacinto River, the lake’s main tributary, is in full drainage mode later in January and February.
Additionally, winter is the best time to gain a possible surplus with the 3.5 to 4 million gallons of reclaimed water coming into Elsinore through the outflow channel (left). If that sounds odd, it comes in through the outflow until the lake level is high enough to push it out the other way. No worries there–the lake has about 15 feet to go to reach that condition.
Obviously, there is a long way to go and winter precipitation is fickle at best. But for now, every time we see a cloud in the sky, it’s good news.