Good Question: Who Has Say In Releasing Water From Dams?

(CBS 5) – We've had an incredible winter, with a snowpack to match. Don Sandri of Hayward asked this Good Question: How do officials decide how much water to release from our dams?

ANSWER: According to Louis Moore with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Central Valley Project can hold more than 11 million acre feet of water.

Water is released from a series of dams depending on a number of factors. They include anticipated snowmelt, environmental need, and storage capacity. State, federal and local water agencies all weigh in on the decision.

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