The Lake Berryessa News
November 2, 2026
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Lake Berryessa Statistics, 11/2/26
Lake Berryessa water level has now dropped to 427.4 feet - 12.6 feet below Glory Hole.
The lake output has dropped rapidly to an average 110 cubic feet per second or 218 Acre-Feet per Day due to decreased irrigation needs.
The lake holds 1,551,292 when full (flowing over the lip of Glory Hole).
Lake capacity is now at 1,321,903 Acre-Feet or 85.2%.
The surface water temperature continues to slowly drop. It is now at 69 degrees from the
surface to 40 feet down.
Total rainfall remains officially .49" at the dam.
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Glory Hole Watch 2027
The lake stopped dropping for a few days after the recent light rain, but is now going down at about 2 inches per week. Solano County irrigation levels have dropped significantly. Lake Berryessa water is mostly going to support the daily needs of the 400,000 residents of Solano County who depend on it.
For historical perspective, there were two "feeding frenzies" during the last few years when the lake almost flowed over Glory Hole. Thousands of people around the world were watching The Lake Berryessa News, focused on the chance it would.
One was in 2023: It looked as if the lake was rising quickly in March, hopes were high, but the rise stalled out at 430 feet and stayed there. Lake Berryessa had created the "Stedman Asymptote" (named after Glory Hole superfan, Robert Stedman).
The other exciting event was in 2024: Glory Hole Watch 2024 - No Spill, No Flow, But A New Record! 2024 was the highest the lake level has ever reached without officially going over the Glory Hole spillway!
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The rise was documented in a series of beautiful drone videos by Evan Kilkus for The Lake Berryessa News. The Lake Berryessa News website hits rose to more than 2,000 per day for weeks from around the world. These videos, one which got 62 million views worldwide, are available on The Lake Berryessa News website at:
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 (62 million views)
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This year, in two days, Wednesday, 10/21/26 & Thursday, 10/22/26, the official Lake Berryessa rainfall measured at Markley Cove totaled .49 inches - not bad for the first rain of the season. The lake level actually rose .4 inches, back up to 427.72 inches - as it was on 10/19/26. Typically the lake does not see any runoff until at least 2-3 inches of rain saturates the watershed and produces measurable runoff.
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The Lake Berryessa Senior Center & Community Hall
A place for the whole Lake Berryessa community to gather and celebrate! This is your opportunity to help rebuild the membership of an important local community resource. Volunteers do it all, but they need your help. All ages welcome to join. The facilities are remarkable. The group photos below are from many years ago when the place was hopping. Do you recognize anyone?
The facility is available for private rental and special events. As with the rest of the Lake Berryessa community, the Lake Berryessa Senior Center & Community Hall has been working hard to revitalize itself. The larger Lake Berryessa Revitalization Program is detailed on The Lake Berryessa News website at:
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Revitalization-
Program.pdf
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A reader asked where they could find detailed due about the lake inputs, outputs, levels, and rainfall. I put together the ones i use in a single document everyone can download at the following link. I also included an image of the various data available at one of the sites. You can put in the dates of interest and create your own tables and charts.
Lake Berryessa Data Resources
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Fire safety: Individual Propery Owners Must Take Responsibility
In a previous issue discussing fire protection and taxes, (No on Measure B), I criticized some social media comments that I believed missed the point about wildfire protection and individual property owners' responsibilities. George Bachich responded with a thoughtful letter with which I mostly agree. I have a small house on 60 acres above the Berryessa Highlands and have twice been threatened by wildfires. During the first fire, the Berryessa Highland was saved by the massive air response by CalFire water aircraft. During the second fire the Berryssa Highlands suffered massive damage from which it has not yet recovered. That tragedy was due to the lack of enough available firefighting water tanker aircraft because of the other fires burning simultaneously in California.
I do believe that our government does have a duty to require that property owners make their places as fire safe as possible to protect themselves and their neighbors. But I also think that giving property owners some modest financial assistance in doing so, such as the Napa County Fire Department Chipping Program which provides free residential brush chipping to help property owners create defensible space and reduce wildfire risk.
I was reminded of the Lightning Complex Fire which devastated Napa County several years ago when I saw lighting in the sky last week past Berryessa Peak at 6 AM before our first rain of the season. I recall the skies above Lake Berryessa that fateful fire night continuously flashing brightly. The bad fire news came quickly after that.
The LNU Lightning Complex fires were a large complex of wildfires that burned during the 2020 California wildfire season across much of the Wine Country area of Northern California – Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, and Yolo Counties, from August 17 to October 2, 2020. The complex was composed of numerous lightning-sparked fires, most of which were small. While they ignited separately from each other, the Hennessey Fire eventually grew to merge with the Gamble, Green, Markley, Spanish, and Morgan fires, scorching 192,000 acres by itself, for a total burn area of 363,220 acres in the complex.
Because of the forethought and diligence of my son, Evan, our house and property were protected by two 5,000 gallon water tanks, an underground water distribution system, and a dozen strategically placed outdoor industrial strength sprinklers, with smaller sprinklers installed around our roof. All grass and brush has been cleared beyond a 100 feet from our house. It was expensive and a lot of hard work, but you can see it in the video - also our timing was good. He also made a video about the fight to save our house which I published on YouTube. Please watch it to see what it feels like to be surrounded by the Hennessy Fire before it combined with the other fires into the Lightning Complex Fire
One thing to note and understand is that no matter how many new parks the Regional Park and Open Space District (RPOSD) buys, nor how much "protected" open space the Napa Land Trust acquires, none of it would have made any difference in the outcome of this, or any, wildfire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5rui1RBBIM
Also see the video of the recent Steele Fire near the Berryessa Highlands at:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1138193298408805
We definitely need more helicopters tanker trucks, bulldozers, firefighting aircraft!
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Five Lake Berryessa resorts are open.
Spanish Flat Campground: https://campspanishflat.com/
Steele Canyon Campground: https://campsteelecanyon.com/
Pleasure Cove Marina: https://goberryessa.com/
Markley Cove Resort: https://markleycove.com/
Putah Canyon Campground: https://royalelkparkmanagement.com/putah-canyon
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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