Bay Area

Storms Bring Needed Increase to Depleted Reservoirs Across State

Michael Anderson, the state’s official climatologist, said river levels will continue to fluctuate after the series of storms passes, and flooding remains a risk in multiple areas, including five waterways that the water resources agency was focused on, including Bear Creek and the Pajaro, Salinas, Cosumnes, and Russian rivers.

Published

3 years ago

January 14, 2023

Oakland Post

"These storms are continuing across the state to help with our reservoir storage levels," said Molly White, a department operations manager.

By Thomas Hughes | Bay City News Foundation

The Sierra Nevada snowpack and California reservoirs received a huge boost from recent and ongoing storms, but not enough to end current drought conditions, officials with the state Department of Water Resources said during a briefing Wednesday.

“We’re working our way through a flood emergency but there will be underlying components of drought that will linger even when this is all done,” said Michael Anderson, the state’s official climatologist.

Anderson said the Sierra snowpack is at full seasonal levels expected by April 1 during an average year, but said it was hard to forecast how much that would fluctuate in the meantime, and excessive melting could pose further flood risks.

Two more storms are forecast to hit California in the next 10 days. Another 3 to 4 inches of rain is forecast for the Bay Area during those storms, and 2 to 3 inches on the Central Coast. Those will mark the final of a series of nine storms that hit the state starting Dec. 30.

Anderson said river levels will continue to fluctuate after the series of storms passes, and flooding remains a risk in multiple areas, including five waterways that the water resources agency was focused on, including Bear Creek and the Pajaro, Salinas, Cosumnes, and Russian rivers.

Anderson said landslides were a significant concern given the volume of rain hitting steep terrain, some of which has been burned by recent wildfires.

Water levels peaked at the Pajaro River on Tuesday morning and are now receding, according to Jeremy Arrich, manager of the department’s division of flood management. Flooding near the river forced evacuations this week.

Arrich said water levels at the Salinas River are forecast to peak sometime Friday evening and remain at peak levels through the weekend. A team of specialists was at the river to address multiple boils, which are areas near a levee that burst on the dry side and leak water.

Record flood levels were reached at Bear Creek in Merced County, Arrich said. The department has deployed 576 linear feet of muscle wall, which is a portable barrier, along with 100,000 sandbags and plastic sheeting to help combat the flooding in the area.

The Russian River is near flood stage and is expected to remain at that level for several days.

“It’s a pretty dynamic situation out there, things are changing rapidly and the flood operations center and our teams on the ground remain ready to help as needed out there and see if any other assistance is requested,” said Arrich.

Molly White, a department operations manager, said reservoirs statewide are at 84 percent of historical average, up from 81 percent on Tuesday.

“These storms are continuing across the state to help with our reservoir storage levels,” White said.

White said the Shasta and Oroville reservoirs both saw steep climbs of water levels, but are still lower than others given their historic lows prior to the storms. Shasta is at 1.9 million acre-feet and Oroville is at about 1.7 million acre-feet of water, which is 70 percent and 88 percent of their historical averages, respectively.

“Each day we are creeping closer to average conditions,” White said.

She said that’s about 2-million-acre feet at both major reservoirs at this time of year.

At other California reservoirs, Lake Sonoma is at 83 percent of its historical average levels, San Luis Reservoir is at 60 percent of its historical average, Camanche Reservoir is at 123 percent, and New Melones Lake is at 56 percent of historical levels.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.