Drought continues in California

[Chris]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Federal water managers said Friday that they plan to cut off water, at least temporarily, to thousands of California farms as a result of the deepening drought gripping the state.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation officials said parched reservoirs and patchy rainfall this year were forcing them to completely stop surface water deliveries for at least a three-week period beginning March 1. Authorities said they haven't had to take such a drastic move for more than 15 years.

The situation could improve slightly if more rain falls over the next few weeks, and officials will know by mid-March if they can release more irrigation supplies to growers.

Farmers in the nation's No. 1 agriculture state predicted it would cause consumers to pay more for their fruits and vegetables, which would have to be grown using expensive well water.

"Water is our life — it's our jobs and it's our food," said Ryan Jacobsen, executive director of the farm bureau in Fresno County. "Without a reliable water supply, Fresno County's No. 1 employer — agriculture — is at great risk."

The drought would cause an estimated $1.15 billion dollar loss in agriculture-related wages and eliminate as many as 40,000 jobs in farm-related industries in the San Joaquin Valley alone, where most of the nation's produce and nut crops are grown, said Lester Snow, director of the Department of Water Resources.

The Associated Press: Drought to cut off federal water to Calif. farms

 

[Old Rocks]

Well, the Southeast has seen some improvement;

Regional Drought Monitor: Southeast

 

[waltky]

They need the relief...

California rains might be end of years-long drought
Sat, Jan 14, 2017 - A series of storms that have rolled across California in the past week dumping heavy rain and snow could herald the end of a punishing historic drought, officials said on Thursday.

“Bye bye Drought. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” tweeted the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada, which monitors parts of northern California, the area hardest hit by the storms. According to the US Drought Monitor, all of northern California is now free of drought, but much of the southern part of the state remains dry, with about 30 percent of the region still in extreme or exceptional drought conditions. “In southern California, we’ve had the highest rainfall in at least five years and in northern California it’s the highest rainfall in at least 10 years,” US National Weather Service weather specialist Tom Fisher said. “For example, if you go up to Santa Rosa, which is up in Sonoma County, normally they would have about three inches [7.5cm] of rain for the month so far, and they’ve had 11 inches,” Fisher said, adding that the same scenario was playing out across much of the state.

That is a far cry from a year ago, when California was reeling from a severe five-year drought that left water reservoirs empty, helped spark huge wildfires and led to severe water restrictions. However, authorities said that although nature was looking greener and the water reservoirs were filling up, it was still too early to cry victory. “California’s rainy season goes through April, so we’re not out of the woods yet,” Fisher said.

Ted Thomas, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Water Resources, said he was cautiously optimistic and added that the impact of the long drought could not be erased overnight. “In California, we have a long history of changing weather conditions, in which for example we start with a very wet winter and end up extremely dry,” he told reporters. “This is a very large state and conditions are different in different areas.”

The office of California Governor Jerry Brown, who proclaimed a drought-related state of emergency in 2014, also said it was too soon to call the drought over. “It’s early in the water season and we know from experience that storms can cease,” California Natural Resources Agency spokeswoman Nancy Vogel told reporters.

California rains might be end of years-long drought - Taipei Times

 

[Wuwei]

California rains might be end of years-long drought

Thank heavens the title of this thread soon may no longer apply.

 

[Old Rocks]

United States Drought Monitor > Home

Still there, but significantly better.

 

[elektra]

The Dams and Reservoirs are overflowing, please Mr. Government, declare an end to this god awful drought. California's largest reservoir filling too fast thanks to El Niño, must release more water

 

[Crick]

The government of the state of Califiornia cannot "end this god awful drought". They could drop regulations to address the drought, but that's a different thing altogether. BTW, what does it mean to fill a reservoir "too fast"?

 

[elektra]

The government of the state of Califiornia cannot "end this god awful drought". They could drop regulations to address the drought, but that's a different thing altogether. BTW, what does it mean to fill a reservoir "too fast"?

It means if they do not release the water quickly, the dam could collapse.

I am glad that you admit, that the government has implemented regulations that have dictated that the normal climate of california is to be referred to as a drought.

 

[Crick]

I made no such admission. You lie.

 

[elektra]

I made no such admission. You lie.

No, I do not lie, it is you that fail to comprehend that government is dictating that what is normal, is a drought. Ignorance of the law is no excuse to break the law, just as ignorance of politics is no excuse to repeat the lies of our politicians.