The 1975 storage capacity of Santa Margarita Lake in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., was 41,400 acre-feet, a decrease of 3,400 acre-feet since 1941. Usable capacity decreased from 25,800 to 23,000 acre-feet. Long-term sediment yield for the Salinas River basin upstream from the lake was estimated at 1,150 tons per square mile per year. A correlation between the annual water discharge of the Salinas River near Pozo and the annual quantity of sediment deposited in the lake was developed that can be used to stimate future sediment deposition. (Woodard-USGS)