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Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials confirmed Wednesday that surplus runoff water from the Eastern Sierra snowpack will be made available to refill the Silver Lake Reservoir ahead of schedule.
The refilling process will begin in mid-April and is expected to take about two months. The plan had previously been to begin refilling the reservoir in May using local water resources, a process that would have taken approximately a year to complete.
“With the above average snowpack, we have a surplus of water in the LA Aqueduct System and with it the opportunity to refill Silver Lake Reservoir ahead of schedule," Richard Harasick, LADWP Senior Assistant General Manager of Water, said. After a winter of historic rain, snowpack levels in the Eastern Sierra are at 217% of normal.
The reservoir was drained in the summer of 2015 so that a new pipeline could be built underneath it. It was originally only supposed to remain dry for a year but the drought made the refilling process a little more complicated, much to the chagrin of local residents.
LADWP is hosting a community meeting tonight, Wednesday, March 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ivanhoe Elementary School Auditorium (2828 Herkimer Street in Silver Lake) to discuss project updates, including plans for refilling and maintaining water quality at Silver Lake Reservoir.
