Correlating Lake Perris Seepage Rates to Water Levels: 1976-2016

Event Center BC

Water in California is an expensive resource. According to the California Public Utilities Commission’s 2016 report the average cost of water from all traditional sources is about eight hundred dollars per acre-foot. For perspective, an acre-foot of water serves approximately nine people a year. Here in Southern California we rely heavily on outside sources of water. The California State Water Project is a dominant supplier to Southern California. Through a complex system California State Water Project transports an average of 2.9 million acrefeet of water a year. Water from the California State Water Project is stored in thirty-four lakes and reservoirs, Lake Perris is the southernmost man-made lake supplied by the California State Water Project. The Lake Perris dam has recently been under repair to correct a loss of water due to seepage. Evaluation using Darcy’s Law of seepage rate through time discovered that the seepage rate through time at Lake Perris has not remained constant like what would be expected. Further investigation is necessary to determine the cause.