Rain filling reservoirs, but drought persists countywide

Despite a healthy dose of rain over the past few months that has bolstered Marin’s near-depleted reservoirs, officials are warning residents that the drought is far from over and water-use restrictions are unlikely to be lifted in full any time soon.

The county, including the Tiburon Peninsula, was downgraded from “extreme” to “severe” drought conditions Dec. 30 following a stretch of wet weather. From the Oct. 1 start of the rain season to The Ark’s press deadline Jan. 10, 26.83 inches of rain was recorded at the county’s Pamela Court rain gauge in Tiburon, compared with just 6.19 inches over the same period the prior year.

The Marin Municipal Water District measures by fiscal year; since July 1, the county had seen 43.16 inches at Lake Lagunitas through its most-recent update Jan. 9, compared with a year-to-day average of 22.36 inches.

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