Lake Berryessa News
May 18, 2026
Breaking News!
Nothing special happened this weekend - except for one of the worst windstorms I've ever seen in the Berryessa Highlands. Stuff flying around. Deck chairs being blown over. The lake was covered in big whitecaps. Not a day to be fishing out there. Even my hummingbirds went to hide. The winds around the lake were clocking in at 25-30 mph. It sure felt more like 40+ here up on the hill above the Highlands!
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Lake Berryessa Statistics 5/18/26
Lake Berryessa water level has remained relatively constant during the last 5 days - dropping only an inch. It now stands at 438.4 feet - 1.6 feet below Glory Hole.
Rainfall at Monticello Dam remains at 24.75 inches.
The lake output has risen to 460 cfs (912 A-F per day). The highest output during the summer averages about 700 cfs (1,387 A-F per day).
The runoff at the Geunoc measuring site is down to 38 cfs. Total runoff is at less than 20% of lake output, so the lake level will continue to keep decreasing.
When full (Glory Hole level) the lake contains 1,551,292 Acre-Feet of water.
Lake capacity is now at 1,518,778 Acre-Feet or 97.9%.
Water temperatures have risen to swimmable levels of 75 degrees.
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Electric Boats, but Electric Surfboards and Electric Jet Skis?
An Electric Watercraft Show is coming to Lake Berryessa
The press release says: "The future of boating arrives in Northern California this summer as Pleasure Cove Marina at Lake Berryessa hosts the Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival. Positioned as the world's largest electric boat event, the festival brings together marine technology, waterfront lifestyle, and sustainability in a first-of-its-kind on-water and waterfront experience.
Set against the backdrop of beautiful Lake Berryessa close, the two-day festival will convene leading electric boat manufacturers, propulsion companies, marina operators, commercial fleet owners, policymakers, and consumers for live, on-water demonstrations and interactive exhibits focused on electric marine innovation.
Attendees will have the rare opportunity to ride and drive the newest generation of electric boats and personal watercraft, experiencing firsthand the quiet performance, instant torque, and environmental advantages that are redefining the marine industry."
Electric Marine Leadership Summit, Date: June 5, 2026 | 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
VIP Experience and Media Event, Date: June 5th, 2026 | 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival, Date: June 6, 2026 | 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Registration: https://luma.com/electric-boat-festival
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Solid design work was able to lower the sound and develop environmentally-friendly four stroke jet ski engines. Those of you familiar with engine design realize the challenge of fitting a four-stroke engine into a runabout jet ski, and finally into a standup jet ski.
Efficient electric boats had just started being developed. Rapid increase in efficient battery technologies led to a rapid increase in electric boat designs.
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Then I witnessed an electric wakeboard demonstration! You can now buy many different brands of electric wakeboards on Amazon - no more wakeboard boat necessary. Electric stand-up jet skis exist primarily in the form of electric motorized surfboards equipped with removable handlebars.
Electric Boat Festival
$25.00
Kids 12 and under are Free. Saturday, June 6th.
Festival-Summit-VIP Bundle
$150.00
Festival + Summit Bundle | Friday, June 5 - Saturday, June 6
Exclusive access to both days of the Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival, including entry to the Electric Marine Industry Leadership Summit and a private VIP on-water demo experience.
Leadership Summit - June 5th
$100.00
Electric Marine Industry Leadership Summit - Friday, June 5 | 11AM - 2PM
VIP Experience - June 5th
$100.00
Step into the most exclusive experience of the Lake Berryessa Electric Boat Festival. Friday, June 5 | 3PM - 6PM
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Caltrans Silly Safety Signs Sprout!
by Peter Kilkus
Sprout: Verb: To appear suddenly or grow rapidly in number.
I'm a "keep your eyes on the road" kind of driver. I pay attention to the yellow lines in the middle of the road and the white lines on the right edge. I judge the state of the road far as I can see. But as I was driving to Napa a couple of weeks ago I noticed that my eyes were annoyingly pulled off the approaching road and drawn to hundreds of distracting bright yellow signs planted along the side of the road at a height above my normal field of view.
Even when I could clearly see a half-mile down the road, there was a sign. Too many signs were used to confuse people on simple curves. Most, if not all, the signs were clearly redundant (five arrow signs on a simple and visible curve) and unnecessary. A couple were hidden behind branches. Many other regular commute drivers have also complained. So I sent a formal complaint to Caltrans.
https://csr.dot.ca.gov/index.php/Msrsubmit
Nature of Situation: Too many new warning signs on Hwy 121 (Monticello Road) detracting from driver safety. There were many unnecessary new signs recently installed, almost all of which draw the drivers' eyes away from the road. They are annoying and redundant. Other residents have also complained to me about them.
If you are as annoyed as many of the other local drivers, you can "Submit Customer Service Request" request at:
I received the following reply: "Thank you for contacting Caltrans. We value your request for service. Because your concern is a recommendation for alteration to existing infrastructure, your request has been referred to our Traffic Ops Division for review and feasibility; Please know that certain studies, assessments and determinations can take up to 6-months."
I also found this little paternalistic gem in the Caltrans manual:
"Caltrans warning signs, detailed in the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (CA MUTCD), notify drivers of unexpected road conditions, hazards, or speed changes requiring caution...Their placement is determined by engineering studies to address hazards that are not immediately obvious to motorists."
Here is a sample from Nextdoor of what other drivers think (names not shown for privacy):
"Quite a few signs were put in the wrong place to actually help navigate the road. And some actually tell you to turn where there is no turn. Others tell you the road is to go one way, when in reality, it goes the other way. Trust the sign at night and you might go off the road."
"It goes way beyond that! They used to put arrows when there was truly a sharp turn. That was fine. Now there’s arrows for a tiny kink in the road. Just like new cars, the more info given to them from a source other than their brain, the dumber the driver gets!!!"
"Jesus Christ! I drove to Napa today for the first time in a while. Thank God for the 958 signs telling me to turn left or right since I couldn’t tell from the movement of the road. My personal favorite were the back to back 20 mph, no! 30 mph… No, wait, 20 mph signs. I’m seeing a circular saw in somebody’s future."
"I have 3 million miles as a professional motor vehicle operator. These signs are a distraction. They may as well put up spotlights in both directions. I will say they went in really fast."
"As someone who drives up and down 121, sometimes twice daily starting at 5 am and coming home at 11pm - they made my commute into town and back an hour each way over an almost 2 week stretch - hard to believe no one saw them going up."
"Section 2 and 5. California updated to the 2026 MUTCD rules, to comply with 2023 federal transportation guidelines. That’s where the excessive signage is originating. Government doing silly government things just like always."
https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/safety-programs/documents/ca-mutcd/2026/camutcd-2026-all.pdf
"I’m thankful for the signs because without them I would have never known which way to go when the road changed!" (satire)
"At night they're blinding! Who could possibly agree to such an absurd over use!? I understand it can be a dangerous road, but this overkill is beyond common sense! They have destroyed a beautiful country road drive! I’m so glad to hear others similar reaction. I think if we could snag the right people who have some power, put them in a car and drive them up and down in the daytime and again at night, they would see what we're all flipping out about. We need help! This is just too intolerable."
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Lake Berryessa Revialization Program Update
Readers may have seen a few articles about the situation at Lake Berryessa being reviewed by the Napa Board of Supervisors last week. Actually nothing of substance came out of that meeting since it was a simple discussion of the overall status of the resorts. The articles in the Register and Press Democrat contained several unusual reporting errors (misidentifying Camp Margaritaville Resorts as Margaritaville) or repititions of what has regularly been reported in The Lake Berryessa News.
A neighbor sent me a note say that her daughter had gone to Walmart and there was a guy collecting signatures against development at the lake. If you see someone doing this, let me know, as well as informing them that you support the Lake Berryessa Revitalization Program.
I responded that there have been Lake Berryessa anti-advocates working behind the scenes trying to undermine the Lake Berryessa Revialization Program for a couple of years. They attacked the Camp Margaritaville proposal for the rebuilding of the Steel Canyon Recreation Area at a Supervisors' meeting more than a year ago. At the time I wrote several reports debunking their false claims and their humorous feelings of 'cringeness'."
Definition: Cringy" (or cringey) is an informal adjective describing something that causes acute embarrassment, awkwardness, or discomfort, often making a person feel embarrassed on behalf of someone else. It is synonymous with "cringeworthy" and is frequently used to describe uncomfortable social situations, bad performances, or unnatural behavior.
Brush up on the facts of this situation at:
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Support-Documentation/The-Lake-Berryssa-Revitalization-Program-Explained.pdf
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Support-Documentation/Environmental-Management-at-Lake-Berryessa.pdf
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/resources/Lake-Berryessa-Support-Documentation/Lake-Berryessa-and-the-Napa-General-Plan.pdf
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May Headlines
Supreme Court Rules 6-3 That the South Won the Civil War
Whitehouse Press Corps Demands Hazard Pay For Constant Exposure To Toxic Stupidity
Trump Supporters Confused By The King Of England’s Use Of Complete Sentences And Proper Grammar
Slumber-Party Confession Comes Back To Haunt Fourth Grader
Supreme Court Collectively Forgets Last Night’s Homework Was To Read The Constitution
Racehorse Receives Carrot Every Time He Wins $2 Million For Owner
Table Tennis Champion Too Weak To Hoist Trophy Over Head
DOJ To Bring Back Firing Squad As Means Of Entertainment
Chick-Fil-A Announces Two Halves Of Buns Must Be Married Before Becoming Sandwich
Office NCAA Bracket Marks Yearly Interaction With Coworkers
Unemployed Man Considers Going Back To School To Become AI
Pete Hegseth Questions What Girls Were Doing In School To Begin With
King Charles Alienates Republicans With Offensive Use of Complete & Coherent Sentences
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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