Thanks to a recent string of storms in the Sierra, the state is boosting the amount of water it will deliver to California farms and cities.
State water officials say they can now deliver 40 percent of the water requested by cities and farmers from the state water project. That's up quite a bit from the initial allocation last year of 5 percent, but still well below average.
Thanks to the recent storms, the Sierra snowpack has reached its highest May 1 level since 2006. The water content was 143 percent of normal; welcome news after three dry years.
But Department of Water Resources officials say California still faces shortages. The key water project reservoir, Lake Oroville, is about 60 percent full.
The State Water Project serves 25 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.
