Water worries ease as frost fears set in

Santa Rosa rainfall totals rose closer to a healthy rain year with the Easter deluge, which also helped erase the chance of a state call for mandatory conservation, a county water official said.

And as the rain moved out Monday, cold weather moved in, bringing the threat of frost to the area today.

"We were looking for a wet spring and what we've seen so far is exactly what we need to fill the reservoirs and keep them filled," said Brad Sherwood, Sonoma County Water Agency spokesman.

Santa Rosa received 2.15 inches of rain from last week's run of storms through Sunday's soaker and Monday's light showers.

That brought the season-to-date total to 27.02 inches. That's about 94 percent of the 30-year average of 28.76 inches through April 5, according to Press Democrat weather statistics.

Last year at this time, Santa Rosa was 66 percent of normal. Rainfall totals were down in 2007 as well.

"It doesn't look like we'll see any type of mandatory conservation orders," Sherwood said. "But just like in the past, the state has handed down conservation orders to us. You never know what the state can do."

Even in the absence of a state order, the Water Agency would urge customers to be conscientious in their water use, he said.

In the past two years, Lake Mendocino has been critically low entering the summer, which resulted in the state implementing water conservation measures to save water for the fall salmon run in the Russian River.

This year, Lake Mendocino and Lake Sonoma have adequate water, but the Water Agency is proposing to deliver the same amount of water as it did last year. That will prompt it to raise rates to cities and water districts by 7.46 percent to 8.9 percent to cover its costs, according to a proposed budget to be reviewed later in April by the county supervisors, who serve as the county water board.

The Water Agency serves 600,000 residents and businesses from Windsor to San Rafael.

As of Monday afternoon, Lake Mendocino was at 98 percent of its water-supply capacity and Lake Sonoma was at 103 percent of its water supply capacity. "That's exactly where we want to be at this time of year," Sherwood said.

"We're nowhere near spilling over. But we are at a point where the reservoirs are filling to water-supply capacity," he said. The remaining capacity in the reservoirs is reserved for flood-control purposes.

"This winter and early spring rain pattern has been phenomenal," Sherwood said.

Dry weather now is on the horizon for at least a week with the next possible chance of rain forecast for next Sunday or Monday, said Rick Canepa, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

A few later spring rains would set up the region nicely for the remainder of the year, Sherwood said.

The month of April typically brings 1.67 inches to Santa Rosa. This April the city already has had 1.43 inches of rain.

The weekend cold front left a substantial layer of snow in several Mendocino County communities including Willits, Covelo and Laytonville. There also was a snow dusting on The Geysers above northeastern Sonoma County.

Low temperatures included 34 degrees at the Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport and in Ukiah.

The Weather Service issued a frost advisory for the North Bay Area valleys and mountains. The warning is from 3 to 8 a.m. today.