Tag Archive for: California drought

In the West, Signs in the Snow Warn That a 20-Year Drought Will Persist and Intensify

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Bob Berwyn and Judy Fahys

Lack of monsoon rainfall last summer and spotty snowfall this winter combined to worsen the Western drought dramatically in the past year, and spring snowmelt won’t bring much relief. Critical April 1 measurements of snow accumulations from mountain ranges across the region show that most streams and rivers will once again flow well below average levels this year, stressing ecosystems and farms and depleting key reservoirs that are already at dangerously low levels.

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Drought Hitting Home in California, Arizona

/in , , /by /Western FarmPressby Todd Fitchette

As drought deepens in the West and the water used by farms and people alike dwindles, farmers in Arizona and California are bracing for cutbacks in the two major federal systems that supply irrigation and drinking water to millions of people.

Water storage is shrinking with no snowpack to replenish reservoirs managed by the Bureau of Reclamation in California and Arizona. Shasta Lake in northern California is about half full while lakes Mead and Powell, the two giant reservoirs designed to contain more than 50-million-acre feet of water behind Hoover and Glen Canyon dams, respectively, are precariously low with under 20-million-acre feet of total storage combined.

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Water Authority Says No Water Shortage, Despite Dry Conditions Throughout West

/in , , /by /The Coast News Groupby Dan Brendel Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority is developing a water shortage contingency plan, though not implementing it, despite dry conditions in places from which the region imports much of its water.

The region draws about 20% of its water from local sources, including groundwater, desalinated seawater and local reservoirs, according to the Authority’s website. Fully one-half of regional water is imported, by various means, from the Colorado River. A minority proportion comes from Northern California.

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Lack of Rain Could Produce Rare Spring Wildfire Season in Greater San Diego

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Gary Robbins

San Diego County is in the midst of the sixth driest rainy season on record, conditions that could lead to rare and sizable spring wildfires if things stay dry, the National Weather Service said on Tuesday.

San Diego International Airport has recorded only 4.36 inches of rain since the official water year began on Oct. 1. That’s more than 4 inches below normal. The airport averages 10.33 inches of rain from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.

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California is on the Brink of Drought – Again. Is it Ready?

/in , , /by /The Guardian by Maanvi Singh

California is at the edge of another protracted drought, just a few years after one of the worst dry spells in state history left poor and rural communities without well water, triggered major water restrictions in cities, forced farmers to idle their fields, killed millions of trees, and fueled devastating megafires.

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Megadrought: ‘Climate Change Starting to Hammer Home’

/in , /by /E&E Newsby Jeremy P. Jacobs

California is heading for a “critically dry year” as drought spreads across the American West, creating a slow-moving crisis for the Biden administration and state officials.

The Golden State’s annual survey of Sierra Nevada snowpack, upon which it relies for as much as a third of its water, was only 59% of normal, officials warned last week, underscoring that the state didn’t get the “March miracle” of rain and snow it had hoped for.

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Drought Takes Hold in West After Second Dry Winter

/in , , /by /Western FarmPress by Tim Hearden

Dry conditions in the Southwest, largely associated with La Niña, have intensified what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is calling the most significant U.S. spring drought since 2013, affecting an estimated 74 million people.

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Lessons Learned from Previous California Drought Helpful in ‘Dry Years’

/in , , /by /KCRA3by Melanie Wingo

As the rain season comes to a close across Northern California, water districts are keeping a close eye on rain totals that are below average, and water managers are explaining what another “dry water year” means for our region. According to California’s Department of Water Resources, or DWR, the state is well into its second consecutive dry year. That causes concern among water managers. However, it comes as no surprise.

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Opinion: The 2021 Drought is Already an Emergency

/in , , /by /Bakersfield Californianby Royce Fast

The 2021 drought is quickly becoming an emergency. Kern County’s supply from the State Water Project has been reduced to just 5 percent of a full allocation. Rainfall is about half of average. And with each passing dry day, the drought gets worse.

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MCCSD Officially Declares Stage 3 Drought

/in , , /by /Mendocino Beaconby Michelle Blackwell

The Mendocino City Community Services District board declared a Stage 3 drought at its latest meeting, March 29. The district has recorded approximately 20.5 inches of rain for the year to date; this is the second-lowest recorded total in the past 100 years.

A Stage 3 drought includes the following mandates:

  • 20% reduction in water usage of allotments
  • Designated irrigation times and an irrigation audit for landscape maintenance.
  • No vehicle washing except with a hand-held bucket or hose equipped with a positive shutoff nozzle
  • Prohibition on refilling of decorative fountains or ponds unless such water is part of a recycling system.
  • No refilling of hot tubs or swimming pools.
  • Drinking water served at restaurants only upon request
  • Recommended use of paper plates at restaurants to avoid dishwashing.
  • A temporary moratorium on new groundwater extraction permits for new development, expansion of existing use, and changes of use, which require a hydrological study.
  • Prohibitions on aquifer pump tests.
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