Governor Newsom Expands Drought Emergency to Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
representing 30 percent of the state’s population
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today significantly expanded his April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed counties where accelerated action is needed to protect public health, safety and the environment. In total, 41 counties are now under a drought state of emergency, representing 30 percent of the state’s population.
Climate change-induced early warm temperatures and extremely dry soils have further depleted the expected runoff water from the Sierra-Cascade snowpack, resulting in historic and unanticipated reductions in the amount of water flowing to major reservoirs, especially in Klamath River,
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California has experienced severe drought over the last few years. In fact, the state has had more years with drought conditions than without. This includes the years of 2001-2005, 2007-2010, 2012-2017, 2018-2019 and our current drought that started to ramp back up in 2020.
Extreme drought brings increased fire danger with a higher burn intensity, crop damage, trees are stressed and lower river flows.
In hopes to prevent increased fire danger, California has suspended burn permits in six northern California counties including Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Colusa, Lake and Yolo.
In this map, you can take a look at how drought has expanded to almost all of California.
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom expands drought emergency, includes Alameda
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On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded an April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include 41 counties, one of which is Alameda. A press release from the governor s office noted the impact of climate change-induced early warm temperatures on the limited amount of water in major reservoirs.
Last Updated May 10, 2021
As the East Bay enters a Stage 1 drought, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded an April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include a total of 41 counties, including Alameda, on Monday.
The counties, which make up 30% of the state population, receive water from the Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed, according to a press release from the governor’s office. The press release noted the impact of “climate change-induced early warm temperatures” on the limited amount of water in major reservoirs.
California expands drought emergency to large swath of state
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The declaration now covers 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California’s nearly 40 million people.
It comes as Newsom prepares to propose more spending on both short- and long-term responses to dry conditions. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows most of the state and a huge swath of the American West is in extensive drought.
The governor last month had declared an emergency in just two counties north of San Francisco – Mendocino and Sonoma.
The expanded declaration includes the counties in the Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake watersheds across much of the northern and central parts of the state.
The declaration now covers 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California s nearly 40 million people.
The declaration comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and growers in the Valley, who this year are receiving only 5% of their expected water allocations from the state. Growers say the sharp cutbacks in state and federal water supplies will mean they will suffer huge economic losses and be forced to fallow fields and sell off cattle.
A bipartisan group of Central Valley lawmakers wrote to Newsom in April pushing for a statewide emergency that would give the state more flexibility in granting water transfers. They also sought easing of some rules for reservoir releases, which would “allow for more water to go to communities throughout the state.”