![]() ![]() “That really does tell the story for the challenges that we face over the remaining days of February, March and April.” “That is an extremely steep drop-off, and it’s due to the dry weather that resumed in late January and has really followed us through February,” Nemeth said. 1 - a 40-year high for the date - to 174% of normal for the date on Tuesday. She noted that in just a few dry weeks, statewide snowpack declined from 205% of normal on Feb. It was a message echoed by members of Newsom’s administration, including Department of Water Resources director Karla Nemeth. January storms provided California with much-needed rain, but water officials say it would be premature to loosen drought restrictions. While some actions can and should be taken locally, “there’s still things that the state needs to be doing in terms of funding, in terms of setting targets for efficiency improvements, in terms of changing the way that we operate the reservoirs, and in terms of how we allocate water on the State Water Project,” he said.Ĭalifornia Why Southern California water restrictions remain despite so much rain He also noted that there is a difference between a hydrologic drought and a political one, with Newsom’s drought emergency declaration giving the state authority to assist local areas with water supply challenges. People may go back to watering their grass, taking long showers or wasting water, Gleick said. Though some Californians may have made permanent changes, such as removing their lawns or upgrading to water-efficient appliances, many behavioral changes are more ephemeral. Jerry Brown did in 2017 following a similar series of storms. Gleick said there is often a measurable “rebound effect” after state officials remove drought orders, as former Gov. In October, we finished one of the driest three-year periods in our state’s history, and then just last month, we experienced what is probably the wettest three weeks in our history.” “We know that extreme weather is getting more extreme as a result of climate change. “We have been working day in and day out to adjust to a changing reality,” said California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. Snowpack is regularly melting earlier than in years past, and the state’s water managers are increasingly tasked with preparing for drought and flood events at the same time. Federal officials have ordered California and six other states to dramatically cut diversions from the river, which has long served as a water lifeline for the West.īut even surface conditions are changing under the state’s evolving climate, which is trending toward long-term heat and dryness while being punctuated by bouts of extreme precipitation. What’s more, Southern California’s other major water source, the Colorado River, didn’t benefit as much from January’s storms and is dipping toward record lows. Groundwater, or the state’s system of underground aquifers, remains perilously low, particularly in the Central Valley where climate change and overpumping have left it dangerously depleted. Part of the challenge is that surface conditions - including reservoir levels and snowpack - aren’t the only factors in California’s water supply. The storm is expected to be ‘a snowmaker of the likes we have not seen for many years,’ a forecaster said, with a chance for snow even at sea level. California Frigid storm to slam California: Blizzard warning for local mountains, snow at low elevations ![]()
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