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Canals full with snowpack runoff
• Winter storms mean water still being released from dam
Canal full in Ceres Main Canal
Local canals are full right now as the Turlock Irrigation District is making controlled releases from Don Pedro to help keep the reservoir at acceptable levels. - photo by JEFF BENZIGER/Courier file photo

Fitness enthusiasts who are out walking canal banks may have noticed that the water level in the canal was about shin-deep on Thursday.

By Friday morning, the canal was full. That’s because Turlock Irrigation District is making controlled releases from Don Pedro to help keep the reservoir at acceptable levels.

“Right now, we’re releasing approximately 3,100 cubic feet of water per second,” said said Brandon McMillan, communications specialist for TID. “About 550 cubic feet of that is going into the river. The other portion is being diverted to TID or MID for irrigation.”

Releases are necessary, of course, because of the massive amounts of snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, a result of the historic rains this past winter.

With the precipitation year just weeks away from its conclusion (Sept. 1 through Aug. 31), 2023 is expected to be the third wettest year on record, behind 1983 and 2017.

“We’re going to end up right around 62.5 inches of precipitation for the year,” said McMillan, who pointed out that an average year is right around 36 inches of precipitation. “At this point in the year, we’re kind of settled on that.”

As far as run-off is concerned, 2023 is again expected to come in third all-time, behind 2017 and 1983.

“As of right now, we’re a little above 4 million acre-feet,” said McMillan. “By the end of the water year, with a little bit left to run off, we’ll be right around 4.2 million acre-feet. To put that into context, that’s approximately double the amount that Don Pedro Reservoir can hold.”

Don Pedro peaked at around 826 feet this year, about four feet from the top.

“It’s not uncommon to be around that height at this time of year,” said McMillan. “The reservoir is designed to fill up in the summer with normal runoff. Per our flood-control manual, we need to be around 801.9 feet by Oct. 7.

McMillan pointed out that during the hot weather, water in the canals may look inviting, but there are strong current underneath the surface that can quickly trap the strongest swimmers, and to keep in mind that TID canals are private property.