Cachuma Lake is a reservoir in the Santa Ynez Valley of central Santa Barbara County, California on the Santa Ynez River adjoining the north side of California State Route 154. The artificial lake was created by the construction of Bradbury Dam, a 201 ft earth-fill structure built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1953. Its surface area covers 3,100 acres, …
Cachuma Lake is a reservoir in the Santa Ynez Valley of central Santa Barbara County, California on the Santa Ynez River adjoining the north side of California State Route 154. The artificial lake was created by the construction of Bradbury Dam, a 201 ft earth-fill structure built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1953. Its surface area covers 3,100 acres, with a maximum design capacity of 205,000 acre⋅ft, but it is currently limited to 188,000 acre⋅ft due to sediment accumulation. The late-December 2022 and early-January 2023 storms dramatically raised the water level in the lake, from an average of 33% full to 100% full for the first time in 12 years.
Location: Los Padres National Forest · Santa Barbara County, California
Primary inflows: California Aqueduct · Santa Ynez River