CA Drought: North Bay Water Flowing, Grass Greener Thanks To Recent Rainfall
SAN RAFAEL (KPIX) -- The grass is greener and the water is flowing in the drought-stricken North Bay after a windfall of rain and according to the forecast, it is expected to get even better.
Not only are reservoir levels rising in Marin County, with many up 20 feet, the ground is springing back back to life.
"You can see the green grass starting to grow," says Phillip Dolcini. "This thistle has a good jump on it, too. If you listen, you'll hear frogs at night. There's a lot of good things going on."
For Dolcini, another round of rain is just more good news on the heels of October's atmospheric river, a storm that primed the land for more rainfall, in a matter of hours.
"For the first 12 hours there wasn't any runoff," he says. "The rain was soaking into the ground. Gosh, for the next 12 hours it was running off. The ponds were filling. It was a beautiful site."
The real payoff of that storm is now flowing all over Marin, as the soaked ground moved the rainfall exactly where everyone would like it to go. The outer stretch of the Soulajule Reservoir is still cracked and broken, but it is actually carrying water. Soulajule is up 20 feet in the past week. So is Nicasio Reservoir, about 15 minutes away.
"A tremendous sense of relief," Dolcini says. "We hope it keeps coming. Keep this green grass coming, that's our livelihood. We'd go broke if we fed hay all the time."
Dolcini is still unloading his alfalfa, 'just to keep the cows honest,' he says. But the continuing rain is exactly what everyone here wanted, and they're ready for more.
"When the rain kept coming and coming, I could just feel my body start to relax, and feel a relief," Dolcini laughs. "It has been quite a stress the last few years."
