Despite the torrential rains of the last few weeks, experts say it’s too early to tell whether California’s interminable drought is really over. It will be necessary to monitor rainfall through at least March to make an assessment. California has been in a drought since 2012. Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought state of emergency in January 2014 after the state experienced record dry conditions.
A trio of storms now headed for Southern California will bring dangerous surf, strong winds and up to 6 inches of rain by early next week, according to the National Weather Service. The storms are similar to those that rocked Northern California recently by flooding rivers, blocking mountain passes and causing several deaths. This latest round, however, is expected to pack less of a wallop, forecasters say. The first storm should arrive Wednesday night and is expected to drop between 0.75 and 1.25 inches of rain in the foothills and valleys through Thursday, said Stuart Seto of the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
In case you missed it, we traveled to East Los Angeles to present our side at the Central Basin Municipal Water District Special Meeting on California WaterFix.
With rivers roaring and more rain coming, California’s drought cops are wrestling with a complicated question: Should they keep patrolling the beat? A chorus of urban water districts Wednesday urged the State Water Resources Control Board, California’s chief drought regulator, to allow the state’s emergency conservation rules to expire. At a lengthy hearing in Sacramento, representatives of the water districts said the state board is losing credibility by insisting the drought still exists when residents can see how much conditions have eased.
California water suppliers pleaded with state water officials on Wednesday to end a statewide emergency water conservation regulation. Nearly half of the state is out of drought as much of Northern California has been socked with one of its wettest years in decades. Late Wednesday afternoon, the Department of Water Resources announced plans to increase water deliveries from Northern California via the State Water Project from 45 percent to 60 percent of requests to 29 contractors from Plumas to San Diego counties.
A series of Pacific storms will bring heavy rain, mountain snow and gusty wind to San Diego County starting later this week and extending through early next week. The first storm is expected to hit late Wednesday night, and gusty winds, rain and a slight chance of thunderstorms are expected. Predicted rainfall amounts range from less than two-tenths of an inch in the deserts to one- to two-thirds of an inch of rain west of the mountains to three-quarters of an inch to 1.5 inches in the mountains, according to the National Weather Service.
Rain has finally been falling hard in California, where reservoirs are filling up fast. After six years of punishing drought, that’s obviously a good thing. But it creates a balancing-act challenge for the state’s water managers. Keep too much holed up in storage and the system will overflow if the precipitation keeps coming. Open the hatches too much and, if Mother Nature doesn’t provide any more deluges, California will be parched when the rain stops.
Southern California’s drought emergency is over, but its overall drought may not be. It depends what you mean by “drought.” Rain caused flooding across the state and began refilling important water reservoirs last week. Big snows in the Rocky and Sierra mountains also seem to ensure Southern California’s two largest sources of drinking water – the Colorado River and the rivers of Northern California – will be flush with snowmelt during the year to come.
Blue skies will give way to storm clouds, gusty winds and snow this week as storms arrive in Northern California. The three storms will not bring as much rain as last week’s series of storms, according to the National Weather Service, but additional runoff is expected to flow into the Sacramento River and other streams and creeks. In total, over the next seven days the North State could see 6 to 8 inches of rain.
When Gov. Jerry Brown released his proposed 2017-2018 budget last week, it didn’t include additional funding for the restoration of the Salton Sea. Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia represents the 56th district, which includes eastern Riverside and Imperial Counties. “On my end, you know, certainly disappointed that right out the gate there wasn’t a funding identified and included in the initial budget demonstrating a commitment to this issue that isn’t just a Southern California issue, but certainly a statewide issue as it relates to water in California,” Garcia said.
