Drought expanded in California

California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation on May 10 expanding a drought emergency across most of the state of California, covering a stretch of the central and northern regions of the state. The emergency declaration directs state agencies to take action to increase drought resilience and modify reservoir releases to conserve water. It also allows for more flexible water transfers between rights holders.

The drought is expected to decrease available water for agriculture, lead to a heightened fire season and present threats for fish and wildlife habitats, according to the proclamation.

A dry winter and other factors have left California with much less of its traditional runoff from snowpack in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges. Newsom said the emergency would “address acute drought impacts in Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed counties.”

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, about 98% of California is currently experiencing drought conditions, with nearly 75% of the state experiencing extreme drought conditions.

In addition to Mendocino and Sonoma counties, which saw drought emergency declarations on April 21, the new proclamation extends the emergency to 39 other counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Trinity, Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba counties. The declarations cover the majority of the state’s 58 counties.

Under the proclamation, state officials will consider ways to conserve water, improve water quality and move water to where it is needed most. It also eases regulations.