San Carlos Lake, after running nearly empty due to drought and maintenance on the adjacent Coolidge Dam, is starting to refill.

At one point in June, San Carlos Lake had 50 acre-feet of water, contributing to shortages for surrounding farmers. Now, the reservoir is storing about 11,500 acre-feet of water.

Kenneth Fossum is with the U.S. Geological Survey. He says operations on the adjacent Coolidge Dam contributed to low water levels, and a busy monsoon season helped replenish the lake.

“It was empty before because they are working on the dam right now. They had it drained down so that they could do that work, and now we have inflows due to the storms up there, so it’s been filling up since then,” said Fossum.

While the lake is still under its average of 19,500 acre-feet, Fossum says he expects the current water levels to go up, as water will likely not be released from the Coolidge Dam in the near future.