Upper Lake Mary doubled in size last weekend. Two Flagstaff-area snow storms in March have filled the lake with more than 1.6 billion gallons of water. Upper Lake Mary is now 65 percent full.
It’s the first time the lake has been this full this early in six years.
Flagstaff Utilities Director Brad Hill said the city will now draw more of its drinking water from the lake.
“Once we determine how full the lake is in the spring, we will then make adjustments of how we predict to use Upper Lake Mary first, because it is the cheapest and most renewable supply,” he said. “And make up the difference throughout the year with groundwater.”
Hill said the lake is still filling at nearly two million gallons per hour.
