Water Supplies Overflowing Amid Deluge : Rains: State’s reservoirs are near capacity and Sierra Nevada snowpack tops full winter’s levels. Local suppliers are told their requests will be met 100%.

For all the misery they caused, the torrential rains that fell this month have also guaranteed that California homes and businesses will have plenty of water to get through this year and probably 1996 as well, officials said Thursday.

With most of the state’s 155 major reservoirs nearing capacity, the State Water Project is guaranteeing that it will deliver 100% of the water sought by local agencies, including the giant Metropolitan Water District that serves most of Southern California.

“There’s more water than we have demand for, or even places to put it,” said Ed Means, chief of operations for the MWD. “We’re full.”

The historic levels of rain and snowfall of the past three weeks mark a dramatic turnabout from December, when state officials said they would be hard-pressed to make even a 30% delivery this year. Last year, when rain and snowfall were among the lowest of any year on record, the State Water Project’s reservoirs were drawn down well below normal levels.

Now two key reservoirs--Shasta and Folsom--are releasing water to provide for additional flood control capacity. And two others--Oroville and New Bullards--are approaching flood levels, officials said.

With the deluge that struck this month, the snowpack at many reporting stations in the Sierra Nevada, where most of the state’s water supply originates, is already topping the level expected for a full winter.

“There’s no question we have more than ample supplies for this year and a good jump on the following year,” said Jerry Gewe, engineer for water resources at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.

Just in case any questions remain, Douglas P. Wheeler, state secretary for resources, this week formally called an end to the state’s “drought watch.”

“This is the first time since the drought that began (in 1987) that we are guaranteeing 100% delivery,” Wheeler said.

Not only has the amount of precipitation exceeded normal levels, MWD officials say the water content of the mountain snowpack is nearly twice the historic average. They point out that wetter snow means more runoff when it melts this spring.

Adding to the gleeful outlook of water officials is the fact that California still has more than three months to go in its traditional October through April rainy season, when more than 90% of the state’s water supply arrives.

So far this season, precipitation in the State Water Project’s watershed on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada has reached 40.1 inches, or 163% of the normal season-to-date total of 24.6 inches. The full normal seasonal total is 49.8 inches. In the DWP’s watershed on the eastern slope of the Sierra, precipitation this season is 38.2 inches, more than 150% of normal season-to-date total.

Although most of Southern California’s water supply comes from the Sierra or the Colorado River, local ground water basins also provide significant supplies.

With rainfall in the Los Angeles area running more than 200% of normal, these supplies are expected to be bountiful, officials said.

And with no reason to water back-yard lawns or crops, water usage this month is running at record low levels, officials said.

At the DWP, Gewe estimated that usage is down about 20% this month. The MWD said its daily sales have been less than half of that in an average January.

The low usage means there will be that much more water available later, when Southern California resumes its desert-like climate.

But despite the healthy supply, officials caution that water should not be taken for granted. The next drought could be just one winter away.

“With three good storms, you can go from a critically dry year to an average year, or from an average year to a good year,” Means said. “But with so many Californians drinking and irrigating, the supply can also quickly go in the other direction.”

And the weather can be fickle.

California had six years of drought, followed by a particularly rainy winter of 1992-93 that was immediately followed by one of the driest years on record last year. Based on that experience, many water agencies were dusting off their drought emergency plans in the fall, just in case the state was slipping back into a prolonged dry spell.

* STORM FUNDS OK’D: State Senate narrowly approves $18 million in disaster relief funds. B8