California is experiencing one of the driest starts to spring in decades, data shows
s, data showed Friday, and absent a heavy dose of April and May showers the state’s drought will deepen and that could lead to stricter rules on water use and another devastating wildfire season.
“You need no more evidence than standing here on this very dry landscape to understand some of the challenges we’re facing here in California,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “All Californians need to do their part.” The nearly 11 inches worth of water sitting in snow in the Sierra Nevada along California's eastern edge is the lowest reading since the depth of the last drought seven years ago, when California ended winter with just 5% of the normal water levels in the mountains, according to the department.
Meanwhile, federal officials announced Friday that municipal and industrial users that rely on water from the Central Valley Project will get less than planned. The project is a 400-mile system of reservoirs, canals and dams that stores and delivers water in the central part of the state. Newsom's administration has faced some criticism for failing to adopt more aggressive statewide conservation mandates, as former Gov. Jerry Brown did when he called for a 25% cut in water use in 2015, in the fourth year of the drought. That was a mandate, unlike Newsom's call for a voluntary 15% reduction.
Jeffrey Mount, senior fellow at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California's Water Policy Center, said blanket conservation requirements can be inefficient in such a big state with vastly different conditions across regions.
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California Drought Deepens as Wet Season Is Anything ButCalifornia is experiencing one of the driest starts to spring in decades.
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California drought deepens as wet season is anything butCalifornia is experiencing one of the driest starts to spring in decades.
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California drought deepens as wet season is anything butAbsent a heavy dose of April and May showers the state’s drought will deepen and that could lead to stricter rules on water use and another devastating wildfire season. The state's snowpack is typically at its peak on April 1.
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State's Snowpack at Only 38% of Average as California Drought DeepensNew readings taken Friday showed the water in California’s mountain snowpack sitting at an alarmingly low 39% of average, the lowest mark since the end of the last drought in 2015.
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California snowpack at 38% of averageThat's the lowest mark since the end of the last drought in 2015; only twice since 1988 has the level been lower.
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California drought: Sierra snowpack falls to one of lowest levels in 70 yearsJanuary-March was driest such three-month period in San Francisco since records began during Gold Rush.
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