Part of Salinas River dried up. Now SLO County is releasing water from this key reservoir
After a series of record-breaking rainstorms pelted San Luis Obispo County, the sunshine is finally back — but this means parts of the Salinas River are drying up.
On Tuesday, the San Luis Obispo County Public Works Department confirmed a dry section of the Salinas River in Atascadero upstream of Graves Creek, the agency announced in a news release.
Without a free-flowing river, the county will resume releasing water from the Salinas Reservoir Dam at Santa Margarita Lake back into the Salinas River, the agency said.
The reservoir is a key water provider for the city of San Luis Obispo, according to the agency.
The county checks the Salinas River’s flow at seven different monitoring points throughout the year, including the Highway 58 bridge, immediately upstream of Graves Creek, the Highway 41 bridge and Templeton Bridge, according to Public Works program manager Laura Holder.
The other monitoring points are located at the Paso Robles 13th Street Bridge, Wellsona Crossing and the San Miguel Bridge, Holder said.
“If you see water flowing at those seven points, it’s considered a live flow,” Holder told The Tribune.
The county discovered a so-called “live stream” water flow on Dec. 13 and Jan. 1 at the Nacimiento River junction north of the county line, Holder said.
The winter storm series caused the live stream, according to the agency.
When the river naturally flows uninterrupted, the county stores its water in the Salinas Reservoir, the agency said.
