A look at Mendocino County water: Rainfall gives “breathing room,” but only infrastructure, climate solutions can ease drought

MENDOCINO Co, CA, 1/29/23 — Even while power outages, flooding, and downed trees plagued Mendocino County during the first weeks of 2023, we could take comfort in the fact that on California’s drought-ridden soil, rain is good news. Lake Mendocino hit its highest amount of water storage in more than a decade, and our past month of precipitation is on track with or better than “normal” conditions over the past 30 years. 

For Jared Walker, who manages some of our inland water districts including the parched, indebted Redwood Valley County Water District (RVCWD), seeing that influx of rain was “nothing short of incredible.” He said the water table for wells in several districts has increased dramatically.