The California Department of Water Resources is increasing the amount of State Water Project water it will be able to deliver this year. That includes deliveries to San Diego County, which gets about 40 percent of its supply from Northern California.
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) increased State Water Project deliveries to California's water contractors from 5 to 15 percent of requested amounts.
DWR Director Mark Cowin said the allocation estimate is still one of the lowest in the history of the State Water Project.
"In terms of rain and snowfall, we are in better condition this year than we were last year," said Cowin.
He said the state is still recovering from three years of drought.
Ken Weinberg is with the San Diego County Water Authority.
"We don't have enough water that we're getting from Northern California to live within our means and we have to take water out of storage and we have to be real efficient with the water we use," said Weinberg.
He said the snowpack is shaping up much better in the Colorado River Basin, which provides about 60 percent of San Diego County's water supply.
El Niño conditions have favored Southern California over Northern California so far this winter.
While the rainfall in Southern California helps, most of the mountains and watersheds above the state's major reservoirs are in Northern California. That is where about 40 percent of San Diego's water supply originates.
