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"Nope. Not an April Fool's Joke. This is the LOWEST snowpack ever recorded in #cawater history"
Calif.
Gov. Issues Sweeping Water Restrictions
Talking
Points Memo,
1 April, 2015
1 April, 2015
ECHO
LAKE, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Jerry Brown ordered state
officials Wednesday to impose mandatory water restrictions for the
first time in history as the state grapples with a serious drought.
In
an executive order, Brown ordered the state water board to implement
measures in cities and towns that cut usage by 25 percent.
"We're
in a historic drought and that demands unprecedented action,"
Brown said at a news conference in the Sierra Nevada, where dry,
brown grass surrounded a site that normally would be snow-covered at
this time of year. "We have to pull together and save water in
every way we can."
The
move will affect residents, businesses, farmers and other users.
Brown's
order also will require campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other
large landscapes to significantly cut water use; order local
governments to replace 50 million square feet of lawns on throughout
the state with drought-tolerant landscaping; and create a temporary
rebate program for consumers who replace old water-sucking appliances
with more efficient ones.
The
snowpack has been in decline all year, with electronic measurements
in March showing the statewide snow water equivalent at 19 percent of
the historical average for that date.
There
was no snow at the site of the Wednesday snow survey.
Snow
supplies about a third of the state's water, and a higher snowpack
translates to more water in California reservoirs to meet demand in
summer and fall.
Officials
say the snowpack is already far below the historic lows of 1977 and
2014, when it was 25 percent of normal on April 1 — the time when
the snowpack is generally at its peak.
Brown
declared a drought emergency and stressed the need for sustained
water conservation.
The
Department of Water Resources will conduct its final manual snow
survey at a spot near Echo Summit, about 90 miles east of Sacramento.
Electronic measurements are taken in a number of other places.
For First Time In History, California Governor Orders Mandatory Water Cuts Amid "Unprecedented, Dangerous Situation"
1
April, 2015
Amid
the "cruelest winter ever," with
the lowest snowpack on record, and with 98.11% of the state currently
in drouight conditions, California
Governor Jerry Brown orders mandatory water cuts in California for
the first time in history...
Lowest
snowpack on record...
98.11%
Drought...
As
ABC reports,
California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced a set of mandatory water conservation measures today, as the state continues to struggle with a prolonged drought that has lasted for more than four years.
"Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow," Brown said in a statement after visiting a manual snow survey in the Sierra Nevadas. "This historic drought demands unprecedented action."
For the first time in the state's history, the governor has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions across California, in an effort to reduce water usage by 25 percent.The measures include replacing 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the state with drought-tolerant landscaping, banning the watering of grass on public street medians, requiring agricultural water users to report their water use to state regulators, and requiring large landscapes such as campuses, golf courses and cemeteries to make significant cuts in water use.
The governor’s announcement comes just a few weeks after NASA’s top water scientist, Jay Famiglietti, declared in a Los Angeles Times op-ed that California only had a year's-worth of water supply left in its reservoirs.
The last four years have been the driest in California’s recorded history. As of March 24, more than 98 percent of California is suffering from abnormally dry conditions, with 41.1 percent in an exceptional drought, according the U.S. Drought Monitor, which estimates that more than 37 million Californians have been affected by the drought. The state’s snowpack, which is largely responsible for feeding the state’s reservoirs, has been reduced to 8 percent of its historical average, and in some areas in the Central Valley the land is sinking a foot a year because of over-pumping of groundwater for agriculture.
...
“We are in an unprecedented, very serious situation,” the governor said in his January statement. “At some point, we have to learn to live with nature, we have to get on nature’s side and not abuse the resources that we have.”
*
* *
And
as we noted previously, while all eyes are focused on dry river beds
and fields of dust, the maountainous ski resort areas are seing their
economies devastated. As
Bloomberg reports,
Last year Vail reported a 28 percent drop in skier visits at its California resorts, and the company warned investors that its financial results would be worse than anticipated.
Those numbers reflect what could be a larger contraction of Tahoe’s ski industry. Seasonal and part-time hiring has slid 27 percent over the last three years, according Patrick Tierney, a professor of recreation, parks, and tourism at San Francisco State University, and spending on ski-related services has decreased from $717 million a year to $428 million. An older analysis by the San Francisco Reserve Bank showed that the value of resort-area homes in places like Tahoe can depend heavily on climate; even a 2-degree increase could cut home values by more than 50 percent.
*
* *
The
drought is getting worse... not better.
From
Daily
Kos
California
governor orders unprecedented water restrictions
NBC
News is reporting that California Governor Jerry Brown just issued an
executive order that specifies water use to be cut by 25 percent
statewide to deal with the state's relentless
drought.
"Today we are standing on dry grass where there should be five feet of snow. This historic drought demands unprecedented action," Brown said in a statement. "Therefore, I'm issuing an executive order mandating substantial water reductions across our state. As Californians, we must pull together and save water in every way possible."
Similar measures were considered during California's 1970s drought but were never implemented, according to the governor's office.
This
comes after recent reports that California's "snowpack" is
at record
lows this spring.
California can expect no water for its drought depleted reservoirs from melting snow in the high Sierra. On March 23, one week from the April 1 date used by water forecasters to predict summer run off from melting snow, the Sierra Nevada's snow water content was a record low 9% of normal. Near record warmth is forecast in the coming week and little precipitation is forecast in the next 10 days going into the long, hot, summer dry season. Melting snow normally constitutes one third of California's water supplies and acts to lengthen the spring season. This year summer will come early. Reservoirs and groundwater levels will begin to fall months earlier than normal because of the lack of mountain snow melt this spring.
Governor
Brown, just a few weeks ago, signed fast-track legislation to
expedite $1 billion inemergency
funds for this drought.
From
today's release:
For the first time in state history, the Governor has directed the State Water Resources Control Board to implement mandatory water reductions in cities and towns across California to reduce water usage by 25 percent. This savings amounts to approximately 1.5 million acre-feet of water over the next nine months, or nearly as much as is currently in Lake Oroville.
To save more water now, the order will also:
-Replace 50 million square feet of lawns throughout the state with drought tolerant landscaping in partnership with local governments;
-Direct the creation of a temporary, statewide consumer rebate program to replace old appliances with more water and energy efficient models;
-Require campuses, golf courses, cemeteries and other large landscapes to make significant cuts in water use; and
-Prohibit new homes and developments from irrigating with potable water unless water-efficient drip irrigation systems are used, and ban watering of ornamental grass on public street medians.
For
those of us living out here, this has been a long time coming. Now
we just need to getagriculture
under control.
But agriculture consumes a staggering 80 percent of California’s developed water, even as it accounts for only 2 percent of the state’s gross domestic product. Most crops and livestock are produced in the Central Valley, which is, geologically speaking, a desert. The soil is very fertile but crops there can thrive only if massive amounts of irrigation water are applied.
Although no secret, agriculture’s 80 percent share of state water use is rarely mentioned in media discussions of California’s drought. Instead, news coverage concentrates on the drought’s implications for people in cities and suburbs, which is where most journalists and their audiences live. Thus recent headlines warned that state regulators have ordered restaurants to serve water only if customers explicitly request it and directed homeowners to water lawns no more than twice a week. The San Jose Mercury News pointed out that these restrictions carry no enforcement mechanisms, but what makes them a sideshow is simple math: During a historic drought, surely the sector that’s responsible for 80 percent of water consumption—agriculture—should be the main focus of public attention and policy.
The
only real nod to agriculture in Brown's release today
is here:
Agricultural water users - which have borne much of the brunt of the drought to date, with hundreds of thousands of fallowed acres, significantly reduced water allocations and thousands of farmworkers laid off - will be required to report more water use information to state regulators, increasing the state's ability to enforce against illegal diversions and waste and unreasonable use of water under today's order. Additionally, the Governor's action strengthens standards for Agricultural Water Management Plans submitted by large agriculture water districts and requires small agriculture water districts to develop similar plans. These plans will help ensure that agricultural communities are prepared in case the drought extends into 2016.
It's
a start. But a very small one.
Nestlé
is draining California aquifers, from Sacramento alone taking 80
million gallons annually. Nestlé then sells the people's water back
to them at great profit under many dozen brand name.
Citing
the enormous strain animal agriculture has on its dwindling water
supply, the state of California announced it would close all meat,
dairy, and egg operations and provide assistance in transforming
these businesses into water-saving vegan food production facilities.
As the drought continues dust storms will become the norm
Haze of dust obscures views across Las Vegas Valley
26
November, 2014
Strong
northwesterly winds kicked up a haze of dust across the Las Vegas
Valley this morning, obscuring distant views of the Strip and
surrounding mountains.
Winds
up to 29 mph have been recorded at McCarran International Airport and
up to 32 mph in North Las Vegas, National Weather Service
meteorologist Nathan Foster said. The wind is expected to strengthen
this afternoon, he said.
A
wind advisory for the valley has been issued for 9 p.m. today through
11 a.m. Thursday, Foster said. Gusts are expected to reach up to 50
mph, he said.
The
strongest winds are expected on the west side of the valley, in the
Summerlin area, Foster said.
The
Clark County Department of Air Quality, meanwhile, issued a dust
advisory effective through Thursday morning.
Unhealthy
levels of dust have not been recorded, but officials will monitor
conditions and post an alert on the department’s website if
conditions change. Officials have also sent notices to construction
sites asking that precautions be taken to prevent blowing dust.
Dust
can aggravate respiratory diseases such as bronchitis and asthma,
officials said. Children, the elderly and those with respiratory
diseases are urged to stay inside during dust storms.
Meena Westford
Nope. Not an April Fool's Joke. This is the LOWEST snowpack ever recorded in #cawater history. #cadrought
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