California:
Drought forces state officials to turn off water supply
KTV,
31
January, 2014
SACRAMENTO,
Calif. — Amid California's most crippling drought of modern times,
state officials on Friday announced they will not allocate water to
agencies that serve 25 million people and nearly 1 million acres of
farmland.
The
announcement marks the first time in the 54-year history of the State
Water Project that such an action has been taken. State Department of
Water Resources Director Mark Cowin said the action was taken to
conserve the little water that remains behind the dams in the state's
vast system of reservoirs.
"Simply
put, there's not enough water in the system right now for customers
to expect any water this season from the project," Cowin said in
a statement.
Most
of the 29 agencies serving the towns and farms that draw from the
State Water Project have other, local sources of water, but those
also have been hard-hit by the drought.
The
total cut-off of state water deliveries this spring and summer could
have a national impact because it will affect farms in one of the
nation's richest agricultural belts.
"These
actions will protect us all in the long run," Cowin said during
a news conference that included numerous state and federal officials,
including those from wildlife and agricultural agencies.
Friday's
action came after Gov. Jerry Brown made an official drought
declaration, clearing the way for state and federal agencies to
coordinate efforts to preserve water and send it where it is needed
most. The governor urged Californians to reduce their water use by 20
percent.
It
also reflects the severity of the dry conditions in the nation's most
populous state. Officials say 2013 was the state's driest calendar
year since records started being kept, and this year is heading in
the same direction.
A
snow survey on Thursday in the Sierra Nevada, one of the state's key
water sources, found the water content in the meager snowpack is just
12 percent of normal. Reservoirs are lower than they were at the same
time in 1977, which is one of the two previous driest water years on
record.
State
officials say 17 rural communities are in danger of a severe water
shortage within four months. Wells are running dry or reservoirs are
nearly empty in some communities. Others have long-running problems
that predate the drought.
The
timing for of Friday's historic announcement was important: State
water officials typically announce they are raising the water
allotment on Feb. 1, but this year's winter has been so dry they
wanted to ensure they could keep the remaining water behind the dams.
The announcement also will give farmers more time to determine what
crops they will plant this year and in what quantities.
Farmers
and ranchers throughout the state already have felt the drought's
impact, tearing out orchards, fallowing fields and trucking in
alfalfa to feed cattle on withered range land.
At
the same time, many cities have ordered severe cutbacks in water use.
With
many of the state's rivers reduced to a trickle, fish populations
also are being affected. Eggs in salmon-spawning beds of the American
River near Sacramento were sacrificed after upstream releases from
Folsom Dam were severely cut back.
The
drought is highlighting the traditional tensions between the groups
that claim the state's limited water for their own priorities —
farmers, city residents and conservationists.
Chuck
Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife,
urged everyone to come together during the water crisis.
"This
is not about picking between delta smelt and long-fin smelt and
chinook salmon, and it's not about picking between fish and farms or
people and the environment," he said. "It is about really
hard decisions on a real-time basis where we may have to accept some
impact now to avoid much greater impact later."
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