Ojai Valley News Blog

By Daryl Kelley
Just beginning a new rainfall year, the Ojai Valley has already experienced its second wettest October in the last half century, relieving farmers of steep irrigation costs during a historically dry month and bolstering prospects of a rare wet winter.

With steady rains starting Monday night and continuing until Wednesday afternoon, the valley experienced the perfect storm: one that dropped inch after inch of cleansing rain while causing almost no damage, flooding or mud slides.

“This was a wonderful storm,” said farmer Tony Thacher. “It was like dropping quarters from heaven. It will keep us from irrigating for at least three or four weeks. And that will probably save us $6,000, including labor costs.”

In just this one 48-hour storm, Nordhoff Peak received more than 10 inches of precipitation, while White Ledge Peak just north of Lake Casitas got nearly 11 inches.

Matilija Hot Springs and Matilija Canyon received between 9 and 10 inches, Sisar Peak, 8.31 inches, and Sulphur Mountain, 7.22.

The city of Ojai received nearly 5 inches, Oak View more than 4 inches and the Upper Ojai about 6.5.

In every location, those totals amount to nearly half of all the rain received for the previous 12 months.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Ron Merckling, water conservation director for the Casitas Municipal Water District. “Matilija Canyon has received nearly 10 inches in one storm, and I don’t know when was the last time that happened. It looks like we’ll have some minor (water) diversions into the lake, and it’s really rare to have that happen in October.”

At Casitas Dam, Merckling’s historical point for comparison, 5.12 inches fell during this week’s saturating storm, compared with an average of .68 inches there for all Octobers since 1960. Last October, only .16 inches fell at the dam, while .46 fell in October 2007, .22 for the same month in 2006 and .97 in 2005.

Which brings us to the downpours of the winter of 2004-2005, when several October rains produced 7.09 inches as a precursor for 51 inches at Casitas Dam for the season. (Nordhoff Peak soaked in more than 80 inches that year.)

In addition to October 2004 and this October, the other rainy Octobers in the last half century occurred in 1984 (4.88 inches at the dam), 1997 (4.06 inches) and 2000 (2.75 inches).

“This is very unusual,” Merckling said. “Since 1960, there have been 16 Octobers when we’ve received zero rain and several others in which we’ve received almost nothing.”

Thacher, a longtime valley farmer, said Ojai could use another storm just like this one in a few weeks.

“It has to do with how dry the ground is and how much it can absorb,” he said. “In the first part of the rainy season you can always take 12 inches of rain. And we got 7 or 8 in this one. So we could take a similar storm and be all right.”

Beyond the money the storm will save in irrigation costs, there are benefits beyond the obvious, Thacher said.

“It leaches salts out of the ground, it fills up reservoirs and it even tamped down the mulch we’ve put around our young trees,” he said. “It’s a huge benefit.”

Merckling said the storm could be a sign of things to come.

“A lot of predictors were saying this could be a dry, or mild, El Niño season,” he said. “That means that the ocean temperatures are 1 or 2 degrees warmer than usual, instead of 4 or 5 degrees (as occurs during a strong El Niño surge.) It’s still early, but hopefully we’ll get a lot more rain.”

During the last rain year, which ended Sept. 30, the Ojai Valley received about 60 percent of normal rainfall, lowering the Lake Casitas reservoir, dropping groundwater levels and forcing farmers to water crops even during the wettest months.

It was the fourth extremely dry year in the last decade.

For example, only 11.55 inches fell at the Oak View measuring station last season, just 54.8 percent of the normal of 21.07 inches.

Only 12.61 inches fell at Casitas Dam, just 56.4 percent of the historic average of 22.37 inches.

Only 12.68 inches fell in Ojai, just 62.4 percent of the average of 20.33.

And at the wetter Matilija Dam station, only 16.53 inches fell, 61.1 percent of the average of 27.06 inches.

But with this promising start, prospects are good.

“Let’s hope this wasn’t the high point of our new year,” Merckling said.

“This was only one rain, and we know we’ll get more.”