The epoch times

LA captures ample stormwater from Hurricane Hilary to supply 50k households.

⁣ The City‌ of Los Angeles captured enough stormwater from Tropical Storm Hilary ‌ last month to serve ‌50,000 households for one year, but the storm moved​ through Southern‍ California too fast to increase the state’s water supplies, according to local and state water agencies.

​ “While recent ⁣tropical storm of⁢ Hurricane Hilary was fast moving and dropped a lot of rain in a short period of time, it traveled too quickly to recharge groundwater aquifers and did not fall over ⁤any major‍ reservoirs to significantly increase supplies,” Akiela Moses, spokeswoman for the California Department of Water Resources, told The Epoch Times.

​ ‌ Hilary⁤ was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years and broke⁣ all daily rainfall records in the region, according to the National Oceanic ​and Atmospheric Administration.

Downtown Los Angeles received​ nearly 2.5 inches during the storm, ⁤while Palmdale got nearly 4 inches and ⁤Lancaster recorded about 3.6 inches, the administration reported.

⁢ ​ Orange⁤ and San Diego counties received 1.5 to 3 inches​ of rain. Further inland, Palm Springs recorded 3.23 inches.

“There ‍were some pockets of heavier ‌rain,” administration Meteorologist Elizabeth Adams told The Epoch Times. “It kind of depends where you were.”

An entrance to‌ southbound Interstate 5 is blocked due to flooding⁤ as tropical storm Hilary moves through the area⁢ in Sun Valley,⁤ Calif., on Aug. 20, 2023. ⁢(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Despite missing out on the ​deluge of ‌water dumped throughout the⁤ southern region Aug. 20, statewide reservoirs are filled to 130 percent above-average levels for this time this ‌year after winter storms delivered much-needed rain and snow across ‌the Golden State.

⁢ Overall, California has received nearly 145 percent more moisture this year, according to the ⁢ California Water Watch, a state website⁣ that provides water storage ‍data.

⁤ Groundwater, which accounts⁤ for about 60 percent‍ of the ‍state’s water supply during dry spells, will‌ take longer to recover following two years ⁤of drought in‍ California, Ms. Moses‍ said. More‌ than⁤ 40 percent ‌of the state’s groundwater wells remain below normal levels, the state reported ‌Sept.⁣ 7.

The⁢ City⁢ of Los Angeles was able to capitalize⁤ on Hilary. An expansion of⁣ a stormwater capture‍ facility allowed the city to collect ⁣nearly 12,200 acre-feet of stormwater during ⁢the downpour, or⁤ enough to meet the yearly water needs ‍of nearly 50,000 households, according to the Los ‍Angeles Department of Water and Power.

‍ An acre-foot of water equals about 326,000 ⁣gallons, or about half ⁤the​ volume of an Olympic-size swimming pool.

“We were able ⁢to‌ capture more water due to the expansion of one⁢ of our stormwater capture facilities ⁢at Tujunga⁢ Spreading​ Grounds,” department spokeswoman Mia Rose Wong told The Epoch Times.

​ The city ⁤has invested more than $130 ‍million in stormwater​ capture infrastructure and has built over 20 such projects from small street capture systems to dam improvements,⁣ according to a LADWP news release from January.‍ It completed⁤ the 150-acre Tujunga Spreading Grounds project in Sun ⁢Valley, California, ​last year.

California Out of​ Drought

The abundance of moisture this year has pulled California out⁢ of ‍a⁢ nearly three-year dry spell as the state endured some of the driest years on record.

⁤ ‍ The state is nearly completely drought-free, according‌ to​ a Sept. 7 report by U.S. Drought​ Monitor, a weekly update of national⁢ drought conditions. About ⁣94 percent of ‍the state is⁣ no longer ​considered in drought.

A map shows California’s drought conditions on⁢ Sept. 5, 2023. (Courtesy of the U.S. Drought Monitor)

⁢ A small slice of eastern Riverside​ and San Bernardino ⁢counties, at the Arizona⁣ border, remained abnormally dry. The ⁢small northern counties of Del Norte and Siskiyou, and a ‍small region of Modoc County, all on‌ the Oregon ⁣border, were also experiencing mostly abnormally dry conditions.

​ In​ the western U.S., two ⁢other states—Nevada and Wyoming—were also mostly out of drought conditions. Nevada was more tha



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