(Top) Lake Oroville, Sept. 15, 2021. (Bottom) January 12, 2023. (Photos: Getty Images, California Department of Water Resources)
One of the best places to see how dramatically big storms this winter have changed California’s water picture is three hours north of the Bay Area, in the foothills east of Sacramento Valley.
There, Lake Oroville, the second-largest reservoir in California and a key component of the state’s water system, has undergone a breathtaking transformation. Sixteen months ago, the reservoir was so parched from severe drought that it was just 22% full. For the first time since it opened in 1967, its power plant had