Drought emergency declared in most of California amid ‘acute water supply shortfalls’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a drought emergency Monday across most of the parched state, covering a vast stretch of the central and northern regions of the state as it endures its second major drought in less than a decade.
The state of emergency covers about 30% of the state’s population across 39 additional counties, ranging from Kern County at the southern end of the Central Valley to Siskiyou County near the Oregon border, and includes the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, Tulare Lake Watershed and Klamath River region.
The move comes after Newsom first declared a drought emergency last month in Sonoma and Mendocino counties due to the severe lack of rainfall and as the region sees “historic and unanticipated reductions in the amount of water flowing to major reservoirs.”
4 more Bay Area counties under California s drought emergency
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A vineyard near St. Helena in the Napa ValleyCharles O Rear/Getty Images
Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded a drought emergency Monday to cover nearly one-third of the state with four Bay Area counties falling under the declaration.
Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa and Solano were identified by the state as counties that depend on water supplies where accelerated action is needed to protect public health, safety and the environment. An emergency was already declared in Sonoma County last month
Newsom said he is acting amid “acute water supply shortages in northern and central parts of California as he called again for voluntary conservation. Yet the state is in relatively better shape than it was when the last five-year drought ended in 2017, he said, as good habits have led to a 16% reduction in water usage.
Sierra snowpack is already wiped out this year, adding to California drought and fire worries
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The latest snowpack conditions for California on May 11, 2021 provided by the California Cooperative Snow Surveys.California Cooperative Snow Surveys
The Sierra Nevada snowpack, a crucial water source for California’s cities and farms, has already dwindled to next to nothing this year, adding to the state’s worsening drought situation.
The latest data from the state Department of Water Resources on Tuesday showed California’s snowpack was just 6% of normal for May 11, and 4% of the normal average for April 1. That date is typically when California’s snowpack is the deepest and has the highest snow water equivalent the depth of water that would result if the snow melted upon falling,
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In a stark indication of California’s growing water crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday declared a drought emergency in 41 counties, including areas of the Central Valley that had urged action on behalf of agricultural growers.
Newsom’s proclamation dramatically expands the drought emergency he declared in Sonoma and Mendocino counties last month, and now covers 30% of the state’s population.
“With the reality of climate change abundantly clear in California, we’re taking urgent action to address acute water supply shortfalls in Northern and Central California while also building our water resilience to safeguard communities in the decades ahead,” Newsom said in a prepared statement. “We’re working with local officials and other partners to protect public health and safety and the environment, and call on all Californians to help meet this challenge by stepping up their efforts to save water.”