Community Corner
Annual Rainfall Below Normal For Region
Between July 1, 2010, and Feb. 1, 2011, Riverside and surrounding communities received 8.45 inches of rain. This year, precipitation has totaled 6.2 inches for the same period.
According to the National Weather Service, the Riverside region is three inches below where it should be in rainfall totals by this time of year.
NWS figures showed that, normally, between July 1 and Feb. 1 of any given tracking period, the local area receives 6.2 inches of rain. However, between July 1, 2011, and Feb. 1, 2012, precipitation has totaled only 3.16 inches.
Between July 1, 2010, and Feb. 1, 2011, Riverside and surrounding communities received 8.45 inches of rain.
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
NWS forecaster James Thomas told CNS that a La Nina pattern has emerged this winter, causing the region to be starved of rainfall as storms track largely to the north, with the jet stream hovering over the Pacific Northwest.
There have been 20 such La Nina events over the last 62 years, Thomas said.
Find out what's happening in Lake Elsinore-Wildomarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to the federal Climate Prediction Center, Southern California can expect below normal precipitation over the next three months.
"California typically faces these types of water challenges, and it calls for all agencies to look for ways to capture what we can and keep it in the region," said McKinney-Underwood.
The Western Municipal Water District, a wholesaler of water to Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District and other agencies, obtains 85 percent of its product from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
Michele McKinney-Underwood of WMWD told CNS that efforts to increase underground and above-ground water storage have positioned the agencies to better handle seasons in which rainfall is minimal.
According to McKinney-Underwood, the supply lines haven't been flush over the last few years, but the WMWD has implemented programs to increase efficiency and optimize resource utilization.
A new water recycling plant that goes online next month will help increase local supplies, and an arrangement with the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District to access water from the Seven Oaks Dam will further reduce reliance on imports from the San Joaquin River Delta and Colorado River, McKinney-Underwood said.
