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Lake Berryessa Statistics (4/2/26)
Lake Berryessa water level has officially dropped to 439 feet - 1 foot below Glory Hole.
Rainfall at Monticello Dam rose .15 inch to at 21.30 inches for the rain year - about average. There has been no rain since February 25th, although very light showers brought some rain during the last 3 days, but no runoff.
The lake output jumped to 535 cfs, 1,060 A-F per day.
Creeks are dry. The Guenoc Upper Putah Creek flow monitoring station shows an input to the north end of the lake which just blipped up a touch to 63 cfs. The Solano County Water Agency doubles that to 126 cfs as an estimate of the total flow into the lake from the whole watershed. That total estimated amount of input is now less than half of the present outflow from the dam (535 cfs).
When full (Glory Hole level) the lake contains 1,551,292 Acre-Feet of water.
Lake capacity is now at 1,533,025 Acre-Feet or 98.8%.
Water temperatures dropped a bit to an average of 65 degrees at the surface, remaining locked at about 54 degrees from 40 feet to the bottom.
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Glory Hole Watch 2026 is Over, but April Fools' Month is Just Begining!
April Fools' Day is The Lake Berryessa News' favorite holiday. Last year we decided to declare April Fools' Month since there were so many actual April Fools out there that needed to be honored. This issue of The Lake Berryessa News is just a short introduction to April Fools Month.
Click this link for some of the best April Fools' stories from The Lake Berryessa News:
Best April Fool's Stories,
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Best-April-1-Stories.pdf
And remember, if you read it in The Lake Berryessa News, it must be true?
Next Sunday's newsletter will expand on the theme with new reports like: "Yountville Re-Incorporates as a 'Cruise Ship' to access special tax credits"; and "Napa County and Visit Napa Valley propose new reality show "Real Nice People of The Napa Valley" that combines elements of "The Truman Show" and "Real Housewives of New Jersey" into a 24/7 live broadcast of Napa County life featuring 100 Webcams and 50 Mini-Drones with video and audio recording capability. Napa County is hoping the national subscription fees from this venture will help prop up the economy.
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Napa Valley Features Reports: Napa County Wine Industry
The actions of Napa County, Visit Napa Valley, Yountville mentioned above are being contemplated since Napa County and its towns and cities are being faced the some serious economic challenges due to the downturn in the fortunes of the wine industry. See the excellent reports by Tim Carl in Napa Valley Features at the links below.
Napa Valley's Economy Looks Bigger Than It Is, By Tim Carl, 3/26/26
https://napavalleyfocus.substack.com/p/under-the-hood-napa-valleys-economy
Napa County’s nominal GDP reached $14.59 billion in 2024 — up 35.8% since 2016. Adjusted for inflation, the same economy grew 4.6%. Of the apparent $3.84 billion in “growth,” 87 cents of every dollar was inflation, not real output. Meanwhile the county’s jobs engine has stalled: Leisure and hospitality employment is essentially flat since 2019 despite continued nominal expansion. This piece runs the numbers on what a contracting wine industry — which accounts for 72% of all county jobs and 74% of all county wages — means for employment, wages and the tax base that funds public services.
Special Report: California Wine Production Plummets — Lowest Since 1999, 9/29/25
https://napavalleyfocus.substack.com/p/special-report-california-wine-production
Is The Wine Boom Over?,1/4/24
https://napavalleyfocus.substack.com/p/the-wine-boom-is-over
Napa Valley Finds Itself Between a Rock and a Hard Place, 10/3/23
https://napavalleyfocus.substack.com/p/napa-valley-finds-itself-between
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A Lake Berryessa Memory from Decades Ago!
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Glory Hole Watch 2026 has slowed. For historical perspective, watch Evan Kilkus' Lake Berryessa News drone videos of the dramatic rise of Lake Berryessa as it finally spilled over Glory Hole on 2/16/17 after an 11-year drought at:
https://youtu.be/bGJvofIyTwQ
1/11/17: 10"+ of Rain Takes Its Toll, But Lake Berryessa is Rising
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https://youtu.be/PRWAfVw9DBU
2/10/17: Lake Berryessa Is Almost Full
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https://youtu.be/8pIPsgLFggk
2/12/17: Lake Berryessa Splashes Over Glory Hole -With a Little Help
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https://youtu.be/EH0LQW7iduY
2/12/17: Breathtakingly Beautiful Drone Tour of Lake Berryessa
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https://youtu.be/cB0BKIm1EzM
2/16/17: Lake Berryessa Is Full &Splashing Over the Spillway
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https://youtu.be/uQp0QConILY
2/18/17: Lake Berryessa Is Spilling 1 Foot Over Glory Hole
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Original ACDC version of:
2/18/17: Lake Berryessa Is Spilling 1 Foot Over Glory Hole
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https://youtu.be/-iHAjOrrU4k
2/21/17: Lake Berryessa is 3.5' OVER the Glory Hole Spillway
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https://youtu.be/qhPzR2Gqzs0
2/24/17: Another Breathtaking Drone Tour of a Full Lake Berryessa
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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