I can’t bear to leave you hanging when it comes to “Glory Hole Watch 2024” at the Lake Berryessa water reservoir east of the valley. This reservoir serves as the main water supply for Solano County to the south. And its “glory hole,” as locals and fans call it, is essentially a giant pipe installed inside the reservoir, to drain it when it gets too full — meanwhile creating the super trippy visual effect of a cosmic black hole in the lake’s surface. The TLDR is that the water line this year didn’t end up rising quite high enough for the hole to fully spill in on itself and create this famous effect. There were some serious trickles running down into the mouth of the hole at one point, but it wasn’t considered a full spill, according to reservoir managers. However! Managers do say our lady of the lake ended up setting a new kind of record this year, for how unbelievably close she was to spilling, and for so long — an “edging record,” as I called it yesterday on the morning show for Napa radio station The Vine. (Tune into 99.3 FM at 9:10 a.m. every Thursday to catch me and host Barry Martin catching up on all the local news that’s fit to blab about!) Anyway, here’s more info from SF Gate: “Lake Berryessa’s spillway, famously known as the Glory Hole, has been on the brink of activation for more than two weeks, hanging a few inches away from a full spill for what’s likely the longest time on record. It’s a scenario that has baffled many, including the engineer who monitors water levels in the California reservoir.” The Solano County water official tells the news outlet: “Since April 1, it’s been within an inch of spilling. The lake may come up and get to be an inch away and then it will slowly back off because the rain stopped. It’s just a crazy year.” This guy has been working at Lake Berryessa for nearly 20 years, SF Gate reports, and “to his knowledge, this year marks the longest period of time the lake has ever been so close to the edge without officially spilling.” He says: “I can guarantee that it will never be duplicated. This is really a once-in-a-lifetime year.” So at least we’ve got that to celebrate. (Source: SF Gate & Lake Berryessa via Facebook)
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