________________________________________________

The Lake Berryessa News

March 22, 2026
Is Glory Hole Watch 2026 Over?

 
Some folks still hope for a March or April miracle rainstorm to put Lake Berryessa over the top of Glory Hole. Future rain forecasts are basically zero, and it does not look promising for a Glory Hole overflow this year. Historically, few of the last 20 years have had significant rainfall in March or April. In addition, evaporation is rising to more than .1 inch per day and soon may hit a quarter inch per day, nearing 2 inches per week.
 
Hope springs eternal, as some say. But hope may just be a statistical anomaly, like winning the lottery. Most people buy lottery tickets to enjoy the fantasy of what we might do with all that money. Statistically, the odds of winning the lottery are basically the same whether you buy a ticket or not.
 
Small, state-run draw games typically offer the best lottery odds, with jackpot probabilities often in the 1 in 100,000 to 1 in 1,000,000 range, far better than the 1 in 292+ million for Powerball. Examples include California's Fantasy 5 (1 in 575,757).
 
And remember that money can't buy you happiness. Real Happiness is your current situation minus expectations.

___________________________________________________________

Date           Level           Storage (A-F)
03/11/2026      439.35             1,539,042
03/12/2026      439.37             1,539,418
03/13/2026      439.37             1,539,418
03/14/2026      439.37             1,539,418
03/15/2026      439.37             1,539,418
03/16/2026      439.39             1,540,111
03/17/2026      439.36             1,539,547
03/18/2026      439.35             1,539,359
03/19/2026      439.34             1,539,171
03/20/2026      439.33             1,538,983
03/21/2026      439.32             1,558,656
03/22/2026      439.31             1,558,495

______________________________________________

_________________________________________

_____________________________________________

Only at Lake Berryessa?
Imagine turning an old cattle pond into your private swimming hole, complete with your
guardian raven security.

___________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________
What did you do as a child that would be considered dangerous today?
https://www.facebook.com/groups/9050422568420191/posts/25690829293952923/
https://www.facebook.com/MumCentralAU/posts/what-did-you-do-as-a-child-thatwould-be-considered-dangerous-today/1358115272346627/

The Facebook sites listed above give some amazing stories. They are fun to read and definitely bring back memories. Below is just a sample of some of the posts. (Editor's Note: I did many of these things myself while growing up in Chicago. My parents encouraged my sense of adventure. The one thing that surprised me about this list was how many people mentioned simple things like drinking out of a garden hose, riding in the back of pickup truck, or bicycling without a helmet! I left most of those repetitions out.)

*********
I know something kids do today that would have been dangerous in the 70's, backtalk your parents.

Water skiing at Lake Berryessa with a small inner tube as a life vest! Bahaha...true story.

My friend and I would race our cars (a Fiat and a Triumph Spitfire) as fast as we could up to Spanish Flat or Turtle Rock to buy a fruit pie and a soda.

Jumped off Putah Creek bridge when the water was quite low. Only lost my bathing suit top. The 80’s.

Sat on the hood of the car while my mom drove slowly down the block, also held onto the back of the car while wearing skates as she drove...sometimes I wonder about my mom.

Age nine, skateboarded from Angwin to bottom of Deer Park with a friend

Rode my bike from Calistoga to Santa Rosa without a helmet.

You would not believe me if I told you!!!

Everything really. Drink from the water hose, climb up on the school roof to collect all the balls kids lost up there, jumping off the garage roof with sheets of fiberglass trying to glide, warming up tortillas on the stove top, lists go on and on…..

Drank from the hose; rode bikes, roller skated, and skateboarded without helmets; trick or treated without my parents; climbed trees; didn’t wear seat belts; rode in the bed of pickup trucks; played outside after dark; walked up to the store without a parent...so many wonderful things.

Rode in the back of dad's pick-up truck from SF to Lake Berryessa to spend the weekends or sometimes longer... my sisters and I and our dog at the time.... we all survived lol

Apparently riding the bus! That’s why there is a line of 200 cars at the school every afternoon.

For those bb gun experts: when I was about 10 I found that the match heads of wooden matches were about the same diameter as a bb. I'd slide a match down the bore of the gun with the match head facing up. Shot them at walls to see them explode. A couple of times I shot them up in the air like rockets and watched them come down on a neighbors roof, light, and roll into their gutter. I was smart enough to figure out that wasn't a good idea.

My brothers and I would use a vine attached to a tree to swing out and back over ravines that were 50 to 75 foot deep. I shudder now just revealing this. My parents never suspected we did this in our woods in Michigan.

Just about everything we did when we were kids would be considered dangerous now. But we were able to have fun, learned how to survive and had a freaking life. I feel so sorry for kids nowadays.

Stood on top of a barrel while my friend ran the horse past me and I jumped on behind her! Bareback no saddle. I was 8-9 years old - no parents in sight.

My Dad would tie my sled to the back of his Studebaker with a long rope. He would then pull me through all the neighboring streets! It was awesome. I look back at how dangerous it really was!

Sometimes my classmates would get a hold of a thermometer and break it in half and pour the mercury into our hands and roll it around thinking it looked really cool! Now, they call out a hazmat team to disinfect everyone and properly dispose of the mercury.

Hopped a freight train in the first grade with my brother and cousin. Of course got busted as we passed a crossing, and Dad was in the car as we went by.

Hitchhiking!

Sneaking out of the house (at 14) and going for a car ride with boys I didn't know, to a pool hall. Barefoot.

I think pretty much every I did as a kid would be considered dangerous these days...

Got dragged through the swamp on an inner tube behind a four wheel drive pick-up. Still have the scar to prove it.

Every summer the kids in the neighborhood would ride our bikes behind the truck spraying DDT to kill the mosquitos. We felt like we were riding in fog. Hey, we're all still here and kicking.

Had friends of different races.

I thought for myself. I didn’t care what others thought of me. I tried to be cool with everyone. I wasn’t afraid of trying. I had a sense of humor.

We had lawn darts and things like that. You talk about dangerous, who remembers those??

Hitchhiking

We had rock fights between kids in yards on opposite sides of alleys in Chicago until I stuck my head up from behind a fence and got hit smack in the middle of my forehead. Needed one big staple to close it. No more rock fights or my mother would have killed us. Almost forgot the pea shooter fights without eye protectors.

Paint ball guns in the yard lol and a homemade zip line

Went to the show by myself at 5 years old. Walk to school by myself when I was 6 & 7.

Went to the bus stop by myself and got on and rode to and from the plunge when I was 8years old. I spent most of my young life doing whatever I wanted to do by myself.

Jump out of barns from the roof after kindergarten.

I was allowed to think for myself, make my own decisions, and if that decision was wrong get my ass whooped, without blaming it on someone or something else.

Ride our bikes down to the car wash and put our quarters into the machine. While that wand was on high rinse flying around like an air hose with no end, we would ride through trying not to get killed, mangled, cut or bruised.

We would also jump off the roof holding the four corners of a sheet.... none of us could ever get that parachute thing to work.

1. Climbed a tree. 2. From the tree, jumped on to a roof. 3. Jumped from the roof to said tree. 4. Climbed back down. 5. All done at night, just for fun.

_____________________________________________

___________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

________________________________________

The 26 for 26 Program Continues!

My sincere thanks to those of you who have donated to The Lake Berryessa News in the past. Due to your support, the Lake Berryessa News has been able to continue publishing as costs continued to rise. Our social media presence and our email newsletters will provide the news you need and more...
 
https://www.lakeberryessanews.com/
 
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100064928340101
 
If you wish to receive our email newsletter, please send your email address to pkilkus@gmail.com.
 
Remember, without The Lake Berryessa News there would be no Lake Berryessa news. I challenge you to find any reporting like the stories you find on our social media sites and in our email newsletters.
 
If you love Lake Berryessa and the Lake Berryessa News in all its forms and want to support the Lake Berryessa community as it is revitalized, please send a donation check of $26 (or more if you feel so inclined) made out to Peter Kilkus (not the Lake Berryessa News) and mail it to Peter Kilkus, 1515 Headlands Drive, Napa, CA 94558. You can stick crinkly old bills in an envelope with your contact information and send it to the same address. You can also use Venmo (@Peter-Kilkus) or Paypal (Peter Kilkus) if you wish. (Note: Your donation is NOT tax deductible)
 
Your decision to support the Lake Berryessa News will show your vote of confidence in the future of the Lake Berryessa community. Hopefully, 2026 will be a positive year in the revitalization process for the lake. I’ll continue to do my best to keep you informed about every detail affecting Lake Berryessa.
 
Thanks, Peter

____________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Glory Hole Watch 2026 has slowed. For historical perspective, watch Evan Kilkus' Lake Berryessa News drone videos of the dramatic rise of Lake Berryessa as it finally spilled over Glory Hole on 2/16/17 after an 11-year drought at:

https://youtu.be/bGJvofIyTwQ   1/11/17: 10"+ of Rain Takes Its Toll, But Lake Berryessa is Rising 
*****
https://youtu.be/PRWAfVw9DBU    2/10/17: Lake Berryessa Is Almost Full
*****
https://youtu.be/8pIPsgLFggk   2/12/17: Lake Berryessa Splashes Over Glory Hole -With a Little Help

*****
https://youtu.be/EH0LQW7iduY  2/12/17: Breathtakingly Beautiful Drone Tour of Lake Berryessa
*****
https://youtu.be/cB0BKIm1EzM 2/16/17: Lake Berryessa Is Full &Splashing Over the Spillway
*****
https://youtu.be/uQp0QConILY 2/18/17: Lake Berryessa Is Spilling 1 Foot Over Glory Hole
*****
Original ACDC version of: 2/18/17: Lake Berryessa Is Spilling 1 Foot Over Glory Hole
*****
https://youtu.be/-iHAjOrrU4k 2/21/17: Lake Berryessa is 3.5' OVER the Glory Hole Spillway
*****
https://youtu.be/qhPzR2Gqzs0 2/24/17: Another Breathtaking Drone Tour of a Full Lake Berryessa

____________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Track the real-time Lake Berryessa weather at:
 
 
Skiers Cove (Below the Berryessa Highlands)
Skier Cove - KCANAPA228
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA228
 
East Side Road (Across from Big Island)
East Side Road, Lake Berryessa - KCALAKEB2
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCALAKEB2
 
Spanish Flat (Near the Spanish Flat Recreation Area)
Roger - KCASPANI1
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCASPANI1
 
Berryessa Pines
KCANAPA461
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA461
 

________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Lake Berryessa Fire Watch Cameras

This site covers the whole Lake Berryessa Region.

http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/

_________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

Free Book Chapters Available For Download

My sincere thanks to those of you who contributed to the future of the Lake Berryessa News. I challenge you to find any Lake Berryessa news anywhere. Hopefully, the many years of our intensive reporting about the latest Lake Berryessa issues will convince you of the truth of our motto, "Without The Lake Berryessa News there would be no Lake Berryessa news".

Here's a gift from The Lake Berryessa News to my readers - Free downloadable chapters from my books:


Lake Berryessa Technical Manual: The Science, Engineering, History, and Humor of a Major Unnatural Resource:

The Death of a Valley

Why Does Lake Berryessa Exist?

The Lake Berryessa Watershed

Rainfall and Lake Level History

How High Is Lake Berryessa?

How Deep is Lake Berryessa?

How Much Water Does Lake Berryessa Hold?

Mean Sea Level: Is There Such A Thing As Accurate Height?

Water In, Water Out, But From Where?

Does the WALROS Like Lake Berryessa?

Why is Lake Berryessa Not a Part of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument?

East Side Story

Hiking and Wildlife Viewing

Are There Quail on Quail Ridge?

Why Does A Hiker Cross The Road? To Get To Stebbins Cold Canyon!

Private Houseboats - Yes; Private RVs & Trailers - No: Why?

Motorized Boats Banned From Big Island Lagoon! Why!

Archeologists Can't Dunk But Can Dig

What Can't You Do At Lake Berryessa?

Napa Opposes Building the Monticello Dam

Monticello Dam Construction
Raise Monticello Dam

Power Generation at Monticello Dam

Monticello Dam Failure Analysis

Predicting the Future & Glory Hole Drone Videos

As Lake Berryessa Turns!

The Ins and Outs & Ups and Downs of Lake Berryessa

Does Lake Berryessa Sweat in the Summer?

Glory Hole Introduction

How Does Glory Hole Work?

Glory Hole: Awesome, Frightening, But Dangerous?

_____________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________-

Lake Berryessa Political History (Free Downloads of Book Chapters)

Policy And Politics Betray The People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020, By Peter Kilkus

 
I. The Five Tragedies Of The Berryessa Valley: A History Of Heartbreak
 
II. Lake Berryessa Political History Timeline
 
III. The “Big Lie”: How It All Began
 
IV. The “Big Fail”: Napa Abandons Lake Berryessa (1975)
 
V. The “Big Picture”: Lake Berryessa Issues: 1957 - 2012
 
VI. The “Big Illusion”: Notice Of Intent
 
VII. The “Big Fight”: Facts Do Matter
 
VIII. The “Big Betrayal”: Perversion Of Public Law 96-375
 
IX. The “Big Mistake”: Pensus - The Beginning Was The End!
 
X. The “Big Hole In History”: Post-Pensus Blues
 
XI. The “Big Boondoggle”: Creation Of A Phony National Monument
 
Addendum 1. Dueling Napa Register Letters To The Editor
 
Addendum 2. The Napa Register View
 
Index Of  Primary Documents

_______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________


Lake Berryessa Technical Manual: The Science, Engineering, History, and Humor of a Major Unnatural Resource

 https://www.amazon.com/Lake-Berryessa-Technical-Manual-Engineering-ebook/dp/B0C21DZ9M9/ref=sr_1_3?

************
Policy and Politics Betray the People: The Lake Berryessa Saga: 1958 - 2020
https://www.amazon.com/Policy-Politics-Betray-People-Berryessa-ebook/dp/B08MFSQDBR/ref=sr_1_1?
 
************
 
Conspiracy Theory or Automatic Pilot: The Economic Roots of Environmental Destruction

 https://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Theory-Automatic-Pilot-Environmental/dp/1676368302/ref=sr_1_3?


************

The KPIX Eye on the Bay interview below is one I did in 2010 and a relevant introduction to the substance of the book. I did it after Pensus had been given the contract for 5 resorts. As we all know Pensus was subsequently kicked out in 2012. 

https://youtu.be/nP9K8Ai0Lkc

___________________________________________________________________________________

Lake Berryessa Data Sources

There are many sources of Lake Berryessa water and weather conditions available. The Solano County Water Agency site is good for real-time graphs of level, capacity, and water temperature. The California Data Exchange Center has data going back decades for level, capacity, capacity change, dam outflow, dam inflow, and rainfall. Anyone can research their own data and create custom charts. This is the source of many of the charts on the Lake Berryessa News website.

********
An upgraded wildfire alert camera system will be keeping watch on Napa County day and night and notifying Cal Fire crews of potential fires. Twenty cameras will be part of a system that will use artificial intelligence and other technologies to identify fire and smoke. If they detect something, an alert will sound in the Cal Fire emergency command center near St. Helena.

Cal Fire has made a large investment into the ALERTCalifornia system, partnering with UC San Diego. There are 1,000 cameras across the state and Napa County is one of the test models. Cameras can see 60 miles during the day, and this can increase to 120 miles on clear nights, with the changes in the air. The system can differentiate among smoke, clouds and dust. A link to this camera system and other relevant weather data is available on the Lake Berryessa News website at: http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/

This website was created by Doug Kunst. It is an amazing resource for Lake Berryessa fire cameras and weather. His business website is http://www.rntl.net/

Lake Berryessa Fire Alert Cameras

http://www.rntl.net/lake-berryessa-cams/

********

 Real-Time Lake Level, Lake Capacity, Water Temperature
 
Solano County Water Agency
 
https://www.scwamonitoring.com/LakeBerryessa/
 
 *********
 
Lake Detailed Historical Data
 
California Data Exchange Center
 
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/
 
Research historical data and create custom plots
 
Lake Berryessa Code: BER
 
https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/sensorplots?staid=ber&dur_code=D
 
******
Local Weather Stations (Weather Underground Network)
 
Skiers Cove (Below the Berryessa Highlands)
Skier Cove - KCANAPA228
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCANAPA228
 
East Side Road (Across from Big Island)
East Side Road, Lake Berryessa - KCALAKEB2
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCALAKEB2
 
Spanish Flat (Near the Spanish Flat Recreation Area)
Roger - KCASPANI1
https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KCASPANI1