The State of California faces another potential drought, as state and federal authorities have warned water users that cuts are imminent and that they should implement conservation measures.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday:
State and federal water officials have delivered their most dire warning yet of California’s deepening drought, announcing that water supply shortages are imminent and calling for quick conservation.
Among a handful of drastic actions this week, the powerful State Water Board on Monday began sending notices to California’s 40,000 water users, from small farms to big cities like San Francisco, telling them to brace for cuts. It’s a preliminary step before the possibility of ordering their water draws to stop entirely.
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The many water rights holders, which range from someone pumping a creek for growing corn to a municipality damming a river to serve thousands, will increasingly have to turn to alternative sources in light of the state notices. Groundwater, desalination and purchasing water from more endowed users remain options, as does conservation.
The Sacramento Bee added:
While stopping short of officially declaring a drought — a task reserved for Gov. Gavin Newsom — the announcements served notice that California is almost certainly heading into one. The Department of Water Resources said it filed a revised “drought contingency plan” with the Department of Fish and Wildlife; the document will serve as a kind of road map for managing water supplies and monitoring impacts on endangered species.
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Rain and snow have been well below average, and the state’s network of reservoirs are holding less water than usual. The U.S. Drought Monitor, a weekly snapshot created by the federal government, shows that drought conditions have enveloped 91% of California’s landmass; more than a third of the state is in “extreme” or “exceptional” drought.
California’s last drought was from 2011-2017, one of the driest periods on record. In a three-part series, Breitbart News explored the state’s alternatives for addressing its water problems.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new novel, Joubert Park, tells the story of a Jewish family in South Africa at the dawn of the apartheid era. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, recounts the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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