With California facing statewide water shortfalls in the driest year in recorded state history, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. proclaimed a State of Emergency on Friday and directed state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for critical drought conditions.
“We can’t make it rain, but we can be much better prepared for the terrible consequences that California’s drought now threatens, including dramatically less water for our farms and communities and increased fires in both urban and rural areas,” said Governor Brown. “I’ve declared this emergency and I’m calling all Californians to conserve water in every way possible.”
In the State of Emergency declaration, Governor Brown directed state officials to assist farmers and communities like ours that are economically impacted by dry conditions. The state is also making plans to supplement drinking water if the need arises.
Governor Brown also directed state agencies to use less water and hire more firefighters, initiating a greatly expanded water conservation public awareness campaign.
In addition, the proclamation gives state water officials more flexibility to manage supply throughout California under drought conditions.
State water officials say that California’s river and reservoirs are below their record lows. Manual and electronic readings record the snowpack’s statewide water content at about 20 percent of normal average for this time of year.
The Governor’s drought State of Emergency follows a series of actions the administration has taken to ensure that California is prepared for record dry conditions.
In May 2013, Governor Brown issued an Executive Order to direct state water officials to expedite the review and processing of voluntary transfers of water and water rights. In December, the Governor formed a Drought Task Force to review expected water allocations, California’s preparedness for water scarcity and whether conditions merit a drought declaration. Earlier this week, the Governor toured the Central Valley and spoke with growers and others impacted by California’s record dry conditions.
The emergency declaration comes close on the heels of an announcement made last week by climate experts from the National Weather Service warning us to expect below normal precipitation for California and western Nevada in the February-April period.
On Friday the US Drought Monitor was also updated, the biggest change being the expansion of Extreme Drought (D3 category) across most of the Sierra, northern and central California and far western Nevada. This is the 2nd from the highest drought category. The Drought Monitor takes into account precipitation deficits and local impacts to calculate drought categories.