California's Lake Oroville is back at 100% capacity after being hit hard by yearslong drought

The state's critically low reservoirs have seen a remarkable recovery in recent months due to a barrage of storms.

By Rachel Ramirez and Cheri Mossburg, CNN

Published Jun 14, 2023 11:43 PM AST

(CNN) — Once a stark example of the drastic effects of California’s yearslong megadrought, Lake Oroville has rebounded and is once again filled to capacity, data from the state’s Department of Water Resources shows.

California’s drought-stricken reservoirs have seen a remarkable recovery in recent months after a barrage of storms. It’s a much-needed improvement after they had been hovering at critically low levels for the past several years, officials said.

Lake Oroville, the state’s most beleaguered and second-largest reservoir, is at 100% of its total capacity and 127% of where it should be around this time of year – a huge boost after the climate-change-fueled megadrought sucked away nearly all its water supply.

A series of heavy winter storms and the following runoff from snowmelt have added 2.5 million acre-feet of water to the lake, raising levels by more than 240 feet since Dec. 1, the state water agency said in a community update.



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That's good news because in 2021 it was at 24% of capacity and a hydroelectric plant had to shut down because the water level was too low.