Drought emergency declared in Central Valley, Klamath region Rachel Becker Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday declared a drought emergency in 39 additional California counties, including most of the parched Central Valley and Klamath River area. The declaration comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and growers in the Central Valley, who this year are receiving only 5% of their expected water allocationsfrom 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.”