California faces statewide water restrictions as drought deepens
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Water agencies that serve 27 million residents won’t get any water they’ve requested from the state heading into 2022 except to meet health and safety needs.
Dec. 2, 2021, 7:28 PM CET / Updated Dec. 3, 2021, 12:57 AM CET
By Alicia Victoria Lozano and The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — California water officials warn the state could be headed toward another round of mandatory water restrictions as some communities prepare to receive no water allocations, except in cases of emergency, from the State Water Project, a complex system of canals, reservoirs and dams that provide water to 27 million people.
It’s the earliest date on which the Department of Water Resources has issued a 0 percent water allocation, a milestone that reflects the dire conditions in California as drought continues to grip the nation’s most populous state and reservoirs sit at historically low levels.
"Despite a wet start to the water year, conditions have dried out since that first storm and we are still planning for a below-average water year," Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water Resources, said in a statement. "That means we need to prepare now for a dry winter and severe drought conditions to continue through 2022."
"If conditions continue to be this dry, we will see mandatory cutbacks," she added in a news conference Wednesday.
In 2015, then-Gov. Jerry Brown ordered California's first statewide mandatory restrictions, saying at the time that "historic drought demands unprecedented action."
Those conservation efforts, which included mandating a 25 percent reduction in water use enforceable by fines, ushered in a new era of drought-resistant landscaping, shorter showers and cutting back on water-guzzling appliances.
But as the drought eased, so did California's mandatory restrictions. Now, the Department of Water Resources indicated the state could see a return to some of those measures early next year.
“It is going to take a multipronged approach to successfully respond to these unprecedented drought conditions,” Nemeth said.
The State Water Project supplies water to 29 districts across California, each with a maximum amount they can request every year. The allocations, which are adjusted in early winter and spring depending on how much snow and rainfall the state receives, represent how much the state can give based on available supplies.
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Dec. 2, 2021, 7:28 PM CET / Updated Dec. 3, 2021, 12:57 AM CET
By Alicia Victoria Lozano and The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — California water officials warn the state could be headed toward another round of mandatory water restrictions as some communities prepare to receive no water allocations, except in cases of emergency, from the State Water Project, a complex system of canals, reservoirs and dams that provide water to 27 million people.
It’s the earliest date on which the Department of Water Resources has issued a 0 percent water allocation, a milestone that reflects the dire conditions in California as drought continues to grip the nation’s most populous state and reservoirs sit at historically low levels.
"Despite a wet start to the water year, conditions have dried out since that first storm and we are still planning for a below-average water year," Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water Resources, said in a statement. "That means we need to prepare now for a dry winter and severe drought conditions to continue through 2022."
"If conditions continue to be this dry, we will see mandatory cutbacks," she added in a news conference Wednesday.
In 2015, then-Gov. Jerry Brown ordered California's first statewide mandatory restrictions, saying at the time that "historic drought demands unprecedented action."
Those conservation efforts, which included mandating a 25 percent reduction in water use enforceable by fines, ushered in a new era of drought-resistant landscaping, shorter showers and cutting back on water-guzzling appliances.
But as the drought eased, so did California's mandatory restrictions. Now, the Department of Water Resources indicated the state could see a return to some of those measures early next year.
“It is going to take a multipronged approach to successfully respond to these unprecedented drought conditions,” Nemeth said.
The State Water Project supplies water to 29 districts across California, each with a maximum amount they can request every year. The allocations, which are adjusted in early winter and spring depending on how much snow and rainfall the state receives, represent how much the state can give based on available supplies.
READ further from the source
Keywords
USA
disasters
drought vulnerability
water scarcity