Lake Berryessa News
June 29, 2026
Things are quiet at the lake. Don't miss your chance to enjoy it.
The water is clean and 78 degrees! Fishing is good.
But, no, there is no news about the future development at any of the resorts.
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Lake Berryessa Statistics (6/29/26)
Lake Berryessa water level continues to drop about an inch per day as the growing season advances into summer. It now stands at 435.2 feet - 4.8 feet below Glory Hole.
The total rainfall at Monticello Dam remains at 24.96 inches.
The lake output has risen to an average of 640 cfs (1,269 A-F per day). The highest output during the summer averages about 700 cfs (1,387 A-F per day).
Lake capacity is now at 1,466,518 Acre-Feet or 95.8%.
Water temperature has hit 80 degrees!
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Jet Ski Racing Excitement in Rio Vista!
Saturday I drove to Rio Vista for the Wild West Watercross jet ski races. Rio Vista is a small town on the Sacramento River on Highway 12 about an hour and a half from Lake Berryessa. It's a nice boating destination too.
Many years ago, Evan and I raced together. Then we became the racing promoters for Region 2 of the International Jet Sports Boating Association (IJSBA) for five years. The new promoter for the western region is Wild West Watercross (https://www.wildwestwatercross.com/). They sponsored a jet ski race at Putah Canyon Campground last summer.
Lake Berryessa News Associate Editor, Evan Kilkus, was a Course Marshall for the Rio Vista races. (see first photo below)
There was a "freestyle" demonstration and some fun-to-watch "chicken boat" races.
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Caltrans Lack of Response to Annoying Silly Safety Signs - Update (6/28/26)
On my way to the races, I noticed that many of the annoying Caltrans "silly safety signs" which apparently had been blown over by the high "winds" that had buffeted Monticello Road a few weeks ago had also been, unexpectedly and conveniently, blown into piles along the road - ready for trash pickup or recycling by Caltrans. The biggest pile of the most offensive signs were stacked at the Monticello Road - Wooden Valley Road intersection. Driving up to that intersection at night from Fairfield must have been an unnerving, blinding experience due to the number of sign initially installed there! Now they are, thankfully, all gone. You can contact Caltrans yourself at:
Caltrans.d4@dot.ca.gov or phone at 510 286-6173.
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Initial Review of the proposed Napa County Sales Tax Initiative
Question: How much land is still open to any development in Napa County?
Answer: Per public research, only a tiny fraction of Napa County is open for general development, as roughly 82% of the land is permanently preserved or protected by strict agriculture zoning. Development is heavily concentrated into incorporated cities (Napa, St. Helena, Calistoga, Yountville, American Canyon) and a few designated industrial areaslike the Airport Industrial Park.
Permanent Preservation: Thanks to the landmark Napa County Agricultural Preserve (established in 1968) and the Land Trust of Napa County, over 96,000 acres (about 18%) of the county are permanently protected.
Agricultural Dominance: Approximately 75% of the unincorporated county is zoned for agriculture, allowing only for very low-density residential uses (typically 40- to 160-acre minimums) to limit urban sprawl.
Targeted Growth Areas: The principal hub for unincorporated commercial and industrial growth is the Napa Valley Business Park Specific Plan area near the Napa County Airport, which comprises about 2,945 acres.
Housing and Infill: Municipalities direct new development toward "infill" projects (such as the South Oxbow housing site in the City of Napa) rather than expanding outwards into open space.
Land Availability: While there are still over 150 privately owned vacant parcels and empty lots listed on the open market (ranging from 0.25-acre plots to larger, rural ranch properties), their development potential is highly restricted by county building codes and water allocation limits.
See the text of the sales tax initiative at:
An Initiative Imposing A One-Half Percent (1/2%) Sales Tax For Wildfire Preparedness, Watershed Protection, And Open Space Preservation
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Should Non-Profit Corporations Be Given Municipal Sales Tax Revenue?
This tax initiative is strongly supported by the Napa Land Trust, which is a non-profit corporation.
Sales tax revenues are primarily designated to fund essential public services like roads, public safety, and public education. Whether sales tax revenue should be allocated directly to nonprofits in California is a subject of ongoing policy debate, balancing the need for public funding with the value nonprofits provide to local communities.
Non-profit organizations do not automatically receive public sales tax revenue, as sales tax is a public fund collected by state and local governments to fund public infrastructure, safety, and government operations. However, they could receive a portion of this revenue through government grants, contracts, or dedicated ballot measures.
Diverting these funds could strain municipal budgets. Broadly distributing tax revenues to nonprofits could set a precedent that reduces the overall tax base available for maintaining civic infrastructure.
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Five resorts are open from North to South to East
Putah Canyon Campground: https://royalelkparkmanagement.com/putah-canyon
Spanish Flat Campground: https://campspanishflat.com/
Steele Canyon Campground: https://campsteelecanyon.com/
Pleasure Cove Marina: https://goberryessa.com/
Markley Cove Resort: https://markleycove.com/
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Track the real-time Lake Berryessa weather at:
Skiers Cove (Below the Berryessa Highlands)
Skier Cove - KCANAPA228
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA228
East Side Road (Across from Big Island)
East Side Road, Lake Berryessa - KCALAKEB2
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCALAKEB2
Spanish Flat (Near the Spanish Flat Recreation Area)
Roger - KCASPANI1
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCASPANI1
Berryessa Pines
KCANAPA461
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA461
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Lake Berryessa Fire Watch Cameras
This site covers the whole Lake Berryessa Region.
http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/
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Free Book Chapters Available For Download
My sincere thanks to those of you who contributed to the future of the Lake Berryessa News. I challenge you to find any Lake Berryessa news anywhere. Hopefully, the many years of our intensive reporting about the latest Lake Berryessa issues will convince you of the truth of our motto, "Without The Lake Berryessa News there would be no Lake Berryessa news".
Here's a gift from The Lake Berryessa News to my readers - Free downloadable chapters from my books:
The Death of a Valley
Why Does Lake Berryessa Exist?
The Lake Berryessa Watershed
Rainfall and Lake Level History
How High Is Lake Berryessa?
How Deep is Lake Berryessa?
How Much Water Does Lake Berryessa Hold?
Mean Sea Level: Is There Such A Thing As Accurate Height?
Water In, Water Out, But From Where?
Does the WALROS Like Lake Berryessa?
Why is Lake Berryessa Not a Part of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument?
East Side Story
Hiking and Wildlife Viewing
Are There Quail on Quail Ridge?
Why Does A Hiker Cross The Road? To Get To Stebbins Cold Canyon!
Private Houseboats - Yes; Private RVs & Trailers - No: Why?
Motorized Boats Banned From Big Island Lagoon! Why!
Archeologists Can't Dunk But Can Dig
What Can't You Do At Lake Berryessa?
Napa Opposes Building the Monticello Dam
Monticello Dam Construction
Raise Monticello Dam
Power Generation at Monticello Dam
Monticello Dam Failure Analysis
Predicting the Future & Glory Hole Drone Videos
As Lake Berryessa Turns!
The Ins and Outs & Ups and Downs of Lake Berryessa
Does Lake Berryessa Sweat in the Summer?
Glory Hole Introduction
How Does Glory Hole Work?
Glory Hole: Awesome, Frightening, But Dangerous?
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Lake Berryessa Political History (Free Downloads of Book Chapters)
Policy And Politics Betray The People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020, By Peter Kilkus
I. The Five Tragedies Of The Berryessa Valley: A History Of Heartbreak
II. Lake Berryessa Political History Timeline
III. The “Big Lie”: How It All Began
IV. The “Big Fail”: Napa Abandons Lake Berryessa (1975)
V. The “Big Picture”: Lake Berryessa Issues: 1957 - 2012
VI. The “Big Illusion”: Notice Of Intent
VII. The “Big Fight”: Facts Do Matter
VIII. The “Big Betrayal”: Perversion Of Public Law 96-375
IX. The “Big Mistake”: Pensus - The Beginning Was The End!
X. The “Big Hole In History”: Post-Pensus Blues
XI. The “Big Boondoggle”: Creation Of A Phony National Monument
Addendum 1. Dueling Napa Register Letters To The Editor
Addendum 2. The Napa Register View
Index Of Primary Documents
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Lake Berryessa Technical Manual: The Science, Engineering, History, and Humor of a Major Unnatural Resource
https://www.amazon.com/Lake-Berryessa-Technical-Manual-Engineering-ebook/dp/B0C21DZ9M9/ref=sr_1_3?
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Policy and Politics Betray the People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020
https://www.amazon.com/Policy-Politics-Betray-People-Berryessa-ebook/dp/B08MFSQDBR/ref=sr_1_1?
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Conspiracy Theory or Automatic Pilot: The Economic Roots of Environmental Destruction
https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Theory-Automatic-Pilot-Environmental/dp/1676368302/ref=sr_1_3?
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The KPIX Eye on the Bay interview below is one I did in 2010 and a relevant introduction to the substance of the book. I did it after Pensus had been given the contract for 5 resorts. As we all know Pensus was subsequently kicked out in 2012.
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Lake Berryessa Data Sources
There are many sources of Lake Berryessa water and weather conditions available. The Solano County Water Agency site is good for real-time graphs of level, capacity, and water temperature. The California Data Exchange Center has data going back decades for level, capacity, capacity change, dam outflow, dam inflow, and rainfall. Anyone can research their own data and create custom charts. This is the source of many of the charts on the Lake Berryessa News website.
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An upgraded wildfire alert camera system will be keeping watch on Napa County day and night and notifying Cal Fire crews of potential fires. Twenty cameras will be part of a system that will use artificial intelligence and other technologies to identify fire and smoke. If they detect something, an alert will sound in the Cal Fire emergency command center near St. Helena.
Cal Fire has made a large investment into the ALERTCalifornia system, partnering with UC San Diego. There are 1,000 cameras across the state and Napa County is one of the test models. Cameras can see 60 miles during the day, and this can increase to 120 miles on clear nights, with the changes in the air. The system can differentiate among smoke, clouds and dust. A link to this camera system and other relevant weather data is available on the Lake Berryessa News website at: http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/
This website was created by Doug Kunst. It is an amazing resource for Lake Berryessa fire cameras and weather. His business website is http://www.rntl.net/
Lake Berryessa Fire Alert Cameras
http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/
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Real-Time Lake Level, Lake Capacity, Water Temperature
Solano County Water Agency
https://www.scwamonitoring.com/LakeBerryessa/
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Lake Detailed Historical Data
California Data Exchange Center
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/
Research historical data and create custom plots
Lake Berryessa Code: BER
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/sensorplots?staid=ber&dur_code=D
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Local Weather Stations (Weather Underground Network)
Skiers Cove (Below the Berryessa Highlands)
Skier Cove - KCANAPA228
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA228
East Side Road (Across from Big Island)
East Side Road, Lake Berryessa - KCALAKEB2
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCALAKEB2
Spanish Flat (Near the Spanish Flat Recreation Area)
Roger - KCASPANI1
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCASPANI1