A week into the new year, water levels at Shasta Dam and all but one other North State reservoir were above historic averages. That’s because rain and snowfall in spring 2023 are still helping repair North State lakes and their surrounding ecosystems after three years of drought damage, water and weather, experts said. Spring rains and heavier than average snowpack in the mountains kept Lake Shasta’s water level high despite a rather dry autumn. “This bodes well in re-filling Shasta (Lake) with an average rainfall amount this winter,” Bureau of Reclamation Area Manager Donald Bader said. As of Sunday Jan. 7, Lake Shasta was more than two thirds full, or 69%. Normally it’s 60% full at this time of year, Bader said.

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