![]() What to know about this drought cycleĬalifornia has spent most of the past 15 years in drought, but the current three-year dry spell included one of the driest late winters on record. West was in the middle of a megadrought that is now the driest in at least 1,200 years. A study from earlier this year found the U.S. The cycle will likely be marked by longer, more severe droughts. The region is familiar with a boom-and-bust precipitation cycle that scientists say is driven by climate change. West is in severe drought just a few years after record rain and snowfall filled reservoirs to capacity. In addition, Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s main reservoir, reached its lowest point last year since being filled in the 1970s.Ĭalifornia isn't alone. The Metropolitan Water District, which includes parts of Southern California, said that the 20 water years had the least rainfall on record for two consecutive years. How bad are drought conditions compared to past years? The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act gave local water providers in critically over-drafted basins 26 years - until 2040 - to stop the impacts of the overdraft from worsening, and until 2042 for those managing less-depleted water supplies.The reservoir capacities are of particular concern. Local water agencies must develop plans to avoid seawater intrusion, degrading water quality and land subsidence. Groundwater Sustainability Plans: You might want to get involved in how your local water agency manages this resource now and in the future.CalMatters has a handy tool to help you find your legislators, and details about their work. Contact your state legislators: Lawmakers can wield state policy to address the water crisis.Contact your local water agency: These organizations directly manage water resources in their respective area.Interested in joining the conversation about how to protect your local water supplies from mismanagement or climate-induced disasters such as drought? Here are options: And droughts are becoming more common and more extreme as the climate crisis intensifies. Groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley has been drained more quickly than it can be recharged, so thousands of wells have gone dry. Communities dependent on depleted groundwater and parched Colorado River supplies do not have enough water to meet the demands of their farms and cities. The adequate snowpack, however, doesn’t mean California no longer faces chronic water shortages. The state’s reservoirs also are in good shape for the rest of the year: All of the major reservoirs are now storing well above average, and no part of the state is currently under drought conditions. ![]() But then February storms dropped lots of snow, and March came in like the proverbial lion, making up for the relatively mild early winter. This snow is critical to California, since Sierra Nevada runoff is a major source of drinking and irrigation water for much of the state.Ĭalifornia’s winter started out slow, with some wondering if there would be a snow drought after a record-breaking 2022-23 winter. Even if no more snow drops by then, the snowpack is at 94% of average for April 1, the official end of the season. Even better news, the mountains are close to reaching their average for the entire winter. On March 4, after a three-day blizzard battered the Sierra Nevada, the statewide snowpack reached 104% of average for that date. California’s snowpack is now officially above average.
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