promised to stop wasting so much stormwater. The move would ease some state and federal requirements to allow water managers to hold back more water from the delta for storage in reservoirs, which could bolster supplies but potentially harm imperiled fish, the groups charged.Ĭalifornia L.A. The governor last week also came under fire from some environmental groups for seeking to waive regulations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta intended to protect fish and other wildlife.
An acre-foot is approximately 326,000 gallons. Newsom’s sweeping water supply strategy, unveiled in August, includes adding 3 million acre-feet of new storage and expanding groundwater recharge capabilities by at least 500,000 acre-feet, among other goals, Garcia said. During January’s storms, millions of gallons of water were channeled out to the ocean, with agencies at state and local levels being called upon to do more to improve their response in the future. However, the state has also received some criticism for its response to such weather swings this year, including its ability to capture and store stormwater when it falls. While some actions can and should be taken locally, “there’s still things that the state needs to be doing in terms of funding, in terms of setting targets for efficiency improvements, in terms of changing the way that we operate the reservoirs, and in terms of how we allocate water on the State Water Project,” he said.ĭeclaring the drought over now would be “premature hydrologically and politically,” he added. He also noted that there is a difference between a hydrologic drought and a political one, with Newsom’s drought emergency declaration giving the state authority to assist local areas with water supply challenges. People may go back to watering their grass, taking long showers or wasting water, Gleick said. Though some Californians may have made permanent changes, such as removing their lawns or upgrading to water-efficient appliances, many behavioral changes are more ephemeral.
#US DROUGHT MONITY SERIES#
Jerry Brown did in 2017 following a similar series of storms. Gleick said there is often a measurable “rebound effect” after state officials remove drought orders, as former Gov.
In October, we finished one of the driest three-year periods in our state’s history, and then just last month, we experienced what is probably the wettest three weeks in our history.” “We know that extreme weather is getting more extreme as a result of climate change. “We have been working day in and day out to adjust to a changing reality,” said California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot.
Snowpack is regularly melting earlier than in years past, and the state’s water managers are increasingly tasked with preparing for drought and flood events at the same time. Federal officials have ordered California and six other states to dramatically cut diversions from the river, which has long served as a water lifeline for the West.īut even surface conditions are changing under the state’s evolving climate, which is trending toward long-term heat and dryness while being punctuated by bouts of extreme precipitation. What’s more, Southern California’s other major water source, the Colorado River, didn’t benefit as much from January’s storms and is dipping toward record lows. Most of February was notably dry, with only 0.85 inches of precipitation falling statewide in the wake of January’s flooding. Indeed, the state’s wet season typically runs until April, and despite the impending storm, there remains much uncertainty about what the coming months may hold. “We’re in better shape than we were two months ago, but we’re not out of the woods.” “I want to be clear that these storms - and the likely rain and snow we may get over the next few weeks - did not, nor will they fully, end the drought, at least not yet,” said Yana Garcia, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency. Gavin Newsom issued in 2021, with millions of residents still under strict watering restrictions. The entire state remains under a drought emergency declaration that Gov. Only weeks after a series of atmospheric rivers deluged California, the state is once again bracing for powerful winter weather that could deliver heaps of rain and snow, including fresh powder at elevations as low as 1,500 feet.īut as worsening climate extremes and water supply challenges continue to bedevil the state, officials cautioned residents Tuesday not to assume that the recent moisture signaled an end to the drought.
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