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"title": "PHOTOS: See How Storms Have Refilled California Reservoirs",
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"content": "\u003cp>Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-government-and-politics-science-business-76709d5854394905e0f46880ed6dab9c\">the depth of California’s drought\u003c/a> that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those scenes are no more after a series of powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across California, replenishing reservoirs and bringing an end — mostly — to the state’s three-year drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, 12 of California’s 17 major reservoirs are filled above their historical averages for the start of spring. That includes Folsom Lake, which controls water flows along the American River, as well as Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir and home to the nation’s tallest dam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945905\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"The photo on the left shows boats surrounded by water, while the photo on the right shows little water in Lake Oroville.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-800x261.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-1020x333.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-160x52.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-1536x502.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Houseboats rest in a channel at Lake Oroville State Recreation Area (left) on March 26, 2023, and the same location (right) on Aug. 14, 2021, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945909\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945909\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"The photo on the left is the docks float in Folsom Lake filled with water. The photo on the right shows now water at all above the docks.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-800x223.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-1020x284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-160x45.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-1536x428.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boat docks float in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake (left) on March 26, 2023; in the same location (right), docks sit on dry land on May 22, 2021. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s a stunning turnaround of water availability in the nation’s most populous state. Late last year nearly all of California was in drought, including at extreme and exceptional levels. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-climate-and-environment-e49c8c5c34ead7ef7f83b770082f20bc\">Wells ran dry\u003c/a>, farmers fallowed fields and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-government-and-politics-gavin-newsom-water-use-3a2c46fc2de40023f14ccc906106cea0\">cities restricted watering grass\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water picture changed dramatically starting in December, when the first of a dozen “\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/floods-weather-storms-natural-disasters-california-4f9ac9733888a349bee3c38b44e0bfb3\">atmospheric river storms\u003c/a>” hit, causing widespread flooding, damaging homes and infrastructure, and dumping as many as 700 inches of snow in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945910\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945910\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"To the left is a photo of Lake Oroville filled with water and to the right is at the same location with much less water.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-800x223.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-1020x284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-160x45.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-1536x427.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville (left) on March 26, 2023, and the same location on May 23, 2021, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945906\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945906\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"The photo on the left shows a lot of water in Lake Oroville in the background. The photo on the right shows little water in Lake Oroville in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-800x223.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-1020x284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-160x45.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-1536x427.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A trailer stands at a property that was scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire above Lake Oroville (left) on March 26, 2023, and the same location (right) on May 23, 2021, in Oroville. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“California went from the three driest years on record to the three wettest weeks on record when we were catapulted into our rainy season in January,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “So, hydrologically, California is no longer in a drought except for very small portions of the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the rain and snow, while drought-busting, may bring new challenges. Some reservoirs are so full that water is being released to make room for storm runoff and snowmelt that could cause flooding this spring and summer, a new problem for weary water managers and emergency responders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945862\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945862\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An aerial view of Folsom Lake with very little water. Vehicles are parked on patches of land where water should be.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A vehicle is parked on a newly revealed piece of land due to receding waters at the drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Granite Bay (left), on Saturday, May 22, 2021. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/File/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945861\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945861\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view of Folsom Lake with mostly water filling the frame.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In an aerial view, a boat floats in the Granite Bay area of Folsom Lake, on Sunday, March 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-snowpack-flooding-threat-65919716df94054d3ff7c849bf60f142\">The storms have created one of the biggest snowpacks on record in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/a> The snowpack’s water content is 239% of its normal average and nearly triple in the southern Sierra, according to state data. Now, as the weather warms up, water managers are preparing for all that snow to melt, unleashing a torrent of water that’s expected to cause flooding in the Sierra foothills and Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know there will be flooding as a result of the snowmelt,” Nemeth said. “There’s just too much snowmelt to be accommodated in our rivers and channels and keeping things between levees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Managers are now releasing water from the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/dams-oroville-ap-top-news-us-news-evacuations-0a4b46c359444c58918ad374f7cd3d28\">Oroville Dam spillway, which was rebuilt after it broke apart during heavy rains in February 2017\u003c/a> and forced the evacuation of more than 180,000 people downstream along the Feather River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945860\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A high view of Lake Oroville with very little water surrounded mostly by land.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville below trees scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire on May 23, 2021, in Oroville. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945857\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut.jpg\" alt=\"High view of a lake with mountains in the background. A small patch of land can be seen in the middle of the water.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The reservoir is 16% above its historic average. That’s compared to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-and-nature-california-e1ba2e38caafb44bf893a2f05a18edb7\">2021, when water levels dropped so low that its hydroelectric dams stopped generating power\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That year the Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle marinas had to pull most recreational boats out of Lake Oroville and shut down their boat rental business because water levels were too low and it was too hard to get to the marinas, said Jared Rael, who manages the marinas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late March, the water at Lake Oroville rose to 859 feet above sea level, about 230 feet higher than its low point in 2021, according to state data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The public is going to benefit with the water being higher. Everything is easier to get to. They can just jump on the lake and have fun,” Rael said. “Right now we have tons of water. We have a high lake with a bunch of snowpack. We’re going to have a great year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The abundant precipitation has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-drought-water-restrictions-ending-f105039dadeab29e03edbe91cb630dbc\">prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift some of the state’s water restrictions\u003c/a> and stop asking people to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has not declared the drought over because there are still water shortages along the California-Oregon border and parts of Southern California that rely on the struggling Colorado River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945859\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Areal view of water being held back by a dam.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Oroville Dam (top right) holds back water at Lake Oroville on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cities and irrigation districts that provide water to farms will receive a big boost in water supplies from the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project, networks of reservoirs and canals that supply water across California. Some farmers are using the stormwater to replenish underground aquifers that had become depleted after years of pumping and drought left wells dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials are warning residents not to let the current abundance let them revert to wasting water. In the era of climate change, one extremely wet year could be followed by several dry years, returning the state to drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Given weather whiplash, we know the return of dry conditions and the intensity of the dry conditions that are likely to return means we have to be using water more efficiently,” Nemeth said. “We have to be adopting conservation as a way of life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945858\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Boats on a leak with a bridge in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Houseboats float near Lake Oroville’s Bidwell Bar Bridge on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County. Months of winter storms have replenished California’s key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Twelve of California’s 17 major reservoirs are filled above their historical averages for the start of spring. That includes Folsom Lake, which controls water flows along the American River, as well as Lake Oroville, the state's second-largest reservoir and home to the nation's tallest dam.",
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"title": "PHOTOS: See How Storms Have Refilled California Reservoirs | KQED",
"description": "Twelve of California’s 17 major reservoirs are filled above their historical averages for the start of spring. That includes Folsom Lake, which controls water flows along the American River, as well as Lake Oroville, the state's second-largest reservoir and home to the nation's tallest dam.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Water levels fell so low in key reservoirs during \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-government-and-politics-science-business-76709d5854394905e0f46880ed6dab9c\">the depth of California’s drought\u003c/a> that boat docks sat on dry, cracked land and cars drove into the center of what should have been Folsom Lake.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those scenes are no more after a series of powerful storms dumped record amounts of rain and snow across California, replenishing reservoirs and bringing an end — mostly — to the state’s three-year drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, 12 of California’s 17 major reservoirs are filled above their historical averages for the start of spring. That includes Folsom Lake, which controls water flows along the American River, as well as Lake Oroville, the state’s second-largest reservoir and home to the nation’s tallest dam.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945905\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945905\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"The photo on the left shows boats surrounded by water, while the photo on the right shows little water in Lake Oroville.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-800x261.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-1020x333.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-160x52.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64309_AP23090818295886-qut-1-1536x502.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Houseboats rest in a channel at Lake Oroville State Recreation Area (left) on March 26, 2023, and the same location (right) on Aug. 14, 2021, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945909\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945909\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"The photo on the left is the docks float in Folsom Lake filled with water. The photo on the right shows now water at all above the docks.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"535\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-800x223.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-1020x284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-160x45.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64300_AP23090818310865-qut-1-1536x428.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boat docks float in the Browns Ravine Cove area of Folsom Lake (left) on March 26, 2023; in the same location (right), docks sit on dry land on May 22, 2021. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It’s a stunning turnaround of water availability in the nation’s most populous state. Late last year nearly all of California was in drought, including at extreme and exceptional levels. \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-climate-and-environment-e49c8c5c34ead7ef7f83b770082f20bc\">Wells ran dry\u003c/a>, farmers fallowed fields and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-government-and-politics-gavin-newsom-water-use-3a2c46fc2de40023f14ccc906106cea0\">cities restricted watering grass\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The water picture changed dramatically starting in December, when the first of a dozen “\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/floods-weather-storms-natural-disasters-california-4f9ac9733888a349bee3c38b44e0bfb3\">atmospheric river storms\u003c/a>” hit, causing widespread flooding, damaging homes and infrastructure, and dumping as many as 700 inches of snow in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945910\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945910\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"To the left is a photo of Lake Oroville filled with water and to the right is at the same location with much less water.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-800x223.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-1020x284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-160x45.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64305_AP23090818224363-qut-1-1536x427.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville (left) on March 26, 2023, and the same location on May 23, 2021, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945906\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945906\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1.jpg\" alt=\"The photo on the left shows a lot of water in Lake Oroville in the background. The photo on the right shows little water in Lake Oroville in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-800x223.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-1020x284.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-160x45.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64303_AP23090818347949-qut-1-1536x427.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A trailer stands at a property that was scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire above Lake Oroville (left) on March 26, 2023, and the same location (right) on May 23, 2021, in Oroville. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“California went from the three driest years on record to the three wettest weeks on record when we were catapulted into our rainy season in January,” said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “So, hydrologically, California is no longer in a drought except for very small portions of the state.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All the rain and snow, while drought-busting, may bring new challenges. Some reservoirs are so full that water is being released to make room for storm runoff and snowmelt that could cause flooding this spring and summer, a new problem for weary water managers and emergency responders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945862\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945862\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut.jpg\" alt=\"An aerial view of Folsom Lake with very little water. Vehicles are parked on patches of land where water should be.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64304_AP23095016901641-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A vehicle is parked on a newly revealed piece of land due to receding waters at the drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Granite Bay (left), on Saturday, May 22, 2021. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/File/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945861\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945861\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Aerial view of Folsom Lake with mostly water filling the frame.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64306_AP23095016921415-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In an aerial view, a boat floats in the Granite Bay area of Folsom Lake, on Sunday, March 26, 2023. \u003ccite>(Josh Edelson/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-snowpack-flooding-threat-65919716df94054d3ff7c849bf60f142\">The storms have created one of the biggest snowpacks on record in the Sierra Nevada.\u003c/a> The snowpack’s water content is 239% of its normal average and nearly triple in the southern Sierra, according to state data. Now, as the weather warms up, water managers are preparing for all that snow to melt, unleashing a torrent of water that’s expected to cause flooding in the Sierra foothills and Central Valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know there will be flooding as a result of the snowmelt,” Nemeth said. “There’s just too much snowmelt to be accommodated in our rivers and channels and keeping things between levees.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Managers are now releasing water from the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/dams-oroville-ap-top-news-us-news-evacuations-0a4b46c359444c58918ad374f7cd3d28\">Oroville Dam spillway, which was rebuilt after it broke apart during heavy rains in February 2017\u003c/a> and forced the evacuation of more than 180,000 people downstream along the Feather River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945860\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945860\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut.jpg\" alt=\"A high view of Lake Oroville with very little water surrounded mostly by land.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64307_AP23095017105503-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville below trees scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire on May 23, 2021, in Oroville. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945857\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945857\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut.jpg\" alt=\"High view of a lake with mountains in the background. A small patch of land can be seen in the middle of the water.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64312_AP23095017106967-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A boat crosses Lake Oroville on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The reservoir is 16% above its historic average. That’s compared to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-and-nature-california-e1ba2e38caafb44bf893a2f05a18edb7\">2021, when water levels dropped so low that its hydroelectric dams stopped generating power\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That year the Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle marinas had to pull most recreational boats out of Lake Oroville and shut down their boat rental business because water levels were too low and it was too hard to get to the marinas, said Jared Rael, who manages the marinas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In late March, the water at Lake Oroville rose to 859 feet above sea level, about 230 feet higher than its low point in 2021, according to state data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The public is going to benefit with the water being higher. Everything is easier to get to. They can just jump on the lake and have fun,” Rael said. “Right now we have tons of water. We have a high lake with a bunch of snowpack. We’re going to have a great year.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The abundant precipitation has \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-drought-water-restrictions-ending-f105039dadeab29e03edbe91cb630dbc\">prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift some of the state’s water restrictions\u003c/a> and stop asking people to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Newsom has not declared the drought over because there are still water shortages along the California-Oregon border and parts of Southern California that rely on the struggling Colorado River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945859\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Areal view of water being held back by a dam.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64308_AP23095017110056-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Oroville Dam (top right) holds back water at Lake Oroville on Saturday, March 25, 2023, in Butte County. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Cities and irrigation districts that provide water to farms will receive a big boost in water supplies from the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project, networks of reservoirs and canals that supply water across California. Some farmers are using the stormwater to replenish underground aquifers that had become depleted after years of pumping and drought left wells dry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials are warning residents not to let the current abundance let them revert to wasting water. In the era of climate change, one extremely wet year could be followed by several dry years, returning the state to drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Given weather whiplash, we know the return of dry conditions and the intensity of the dry conditions that are likely to return means we have to be using water more efficiently,” Nemeth said. “We have to be adopting conservation as a way of life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11945858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11945858\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Boats on a leak with a bridge in the background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2023/04/RS64311_AP23095017213207-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Houseboats float near Lake Oroville’s Bidwell Bar Bridge on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in Butte County. Months of winter storms have replenished California’s key reservoirs after three years of punishing drought. \u003ccite>(Noah Berger/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>With the Sierra Nevada smothered in snow, large swaths of the Central Valley flooded and many Californians weary of water, state officials announced today that they are lifting some drought-related provisions on water use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our water supply conditions have improved markedly,” said Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state is rescinding its request for voluntary 15% water conservation statewide, which was issued in July 2021 and instead, Crowfoot said, shifting to an approach of making conservation a “way of life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to maintain our vigilance,” he said. “It’s not about going back to normal anymore. It’s really adjusting to a new normal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the state’s emergency provisions were ended and some were left in place. Wasteful uses of water, such as hosing down sidewalks and watering ornamental grass on commercial property, remain banned, according to state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state, however, is ending its requirement that local water agencies implement \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2022/pr05242022-conservation-emergency-regulations.pdf#:~:text=Level%202%20water%20shortage%20contingency%20plans%20are%20meant,Level%202%20actions%20often%20include%20things%20such%20as%3A\">Level 2 drought contingency plans\u003c/a>, which are locally written water use regulations — such as limits on watering lawns — that are invoked during water shortages.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Heather Cooley, director of research, Pacific Institute\"]‘The reality is we don’t have water to waste in California. We need to continue investing in water efficiency to prepare for a hotter, drier future and more intense droughts.’[/pullquote]In total, 81 drought-related provisions were enacted since April 2021. Just 33 remain in place, said Gov. Gavin Newsom at a press briefing today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials also announced today a large increase in the amounts of water that local suppliers will get from the State Water Project, increasing from 35% announced last month to 75% of requested supplies. The water is provided to 750,000 acres of farmland and 27 million people, mostly in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcements come as some of the state’s reservoirs near capacity, with some of the state’s largest expected to fill by late spring. And the snowpack of the Sierra Nevada, nearing record levels in the southern portion of the range, continues to grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/07/california-water-use-drought/\">issued his voluntary conservation target\u003c/a> almost two years ago\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/03/newsom-imposes-new-california-water-restrictions-leaves-details-to-locals/\">,\u003c/a> many water experts said he should have made it mandatory, as former Gov. Jerry Brown did during the previous drought. They also criticized him for failing to reduce use by farmers, who consume 80% of the state’s delivered water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials say even though the 15% target was voluntary, it worked. However, the data does not back that up: Californians \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-drought-monitor/\">used 6% less water from July 2021 through December 2022 compared to 2020 \u003c/a>— falling far short of Newsom’s 15% goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, an Oakland water supply think tank, said California must not relax its ethos of water conservation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In spite of wet weather, the state’s largest water supply — its groundwater basins — remain depleted.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"science_1981943,news_11931467,news_11929864\"]“Even though reservoirs are recovering, groundwater aquifers remain depleted. The Colorado River — a major water source for Southern California — is also facing a massive deficit,” Cooley said. “The reality is we don’t have water to waste in California. We need to continue investing in water efficiency to prepare for a hotter, drier future and more intense droughts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike McNutt, spokesperson for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District in Los Angeles County, said the retraction of the conservation target “sends the wrong message” to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why put out messaging that says something different, that says, ‘You can conserve if you want to, but you don’t need to’?” said McNutt, whose district serving 75,000 people is totally reliant on water from the state aqueduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The next drought is certainly just around the corner,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians did cut their average water use by 600,000 acre-feet in almost two years\u003cem>. \u003c/em>That’s almost two-thirds the volume of Folsom Reservoir and enough water to serve 1.2 million households in a year.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Wade Crowfoot, secretary, California Natural Resources Agency\"]‘We need to maintain our vigilance. It’s not about going back to normal anymore. It’s really adjusting to a new normal.’[/pullquote]Crowfoot stressed that the drought is not over, noting that drought status “is not a completely binary situation.” In some parts of the state, drought conditions have dramatically eased, but not in others. Crowfoot said the Klamath River basin and the region of Southern California that relies on Colorado River water continue to face “acute water shortages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thousands of households lack drinking water due to depleted groundwater basins, which have been overdrafted for decades, and experts agree they \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/02/california-depleted-groundwater-storms/\">will not rebound in a single rainy winter.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, said the hope is that cities “are not just rebounding” to old ways of water use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Conservation remains a priority,” Crowfoot agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Anderson, climatologist with the California Department of Water Resources, said snowpack is at 278% of normal, with another storm system expected to hit the North Coast and move inland and south from there starting Monday. The system, he said, will deliver a relatively cold storm originating in the Gulf of Alaska, unlike some recent blasts of tropical moisture. This means it will drop more snow in the mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not massive accumulations, but could be locally heavy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "California ended its voluntary statewide target to conserve water by 15%, but experts urged continued vigilance with many water supplies depleted and another drought 'around the corner.'",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>With the Sierra Nevada smothered in snow, large swaths of the Central Valley flooded and many Californians weary of water, state officials announced today that they are lifting some drought-related provisions on water use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our water supply conditions have improved markedly,” said Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state is rescinding its request for voluntary 15% water conservation statewide, which was issued in July 2021 and instead, Crowfoot said, shifting to an approach of making conservation a “way of life.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to maintain our vigilance,” he said. “It’s not about going back to normal anymore. It’s really adjusting to a new normal.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the state’s emergency provisions were ended and some were left in place. Wasteful uses of water, such as hosing down sidewalks and watering ornamental grass on commercial property, remain banned, according to state officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state, however, is ending its requirement that local water agencies implement \u003ca href=\"https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/press_room/press_releases/2022/pr05242022-conservation-emergency-regulations.pdf#:~:text=Level%202%20water%20shortage%20contingency%20plans%20are%20meant,Level%202%20actions%20often%20include%20things%20such%20as%3A\">Level 2 drought contingency plans\u003c/a>, which are locally written water use regulations — such as limits on watering lawns — that are invoked during water shortages.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘The reality is we don’t have water to waste in California. We need to continue investing in water efficiency to prepare for a hotter, drier future and more intense droughts.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In total, 81 drought-related provisions were enacted since April 2021. Just 33 remain in place, said Gov. Gavin Newsom at a press briefing today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials also announced today a large increase in the amounts of water that local suppliers will get from the State Water Project, increasing from 35% announced last month to 75% of requested supplies. The water is provided to 750,000 acres of farmland and 27 million people, mostly in Southern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcements come as some of the state’s reservoirs near capacity, with some of the state’s largest expected to fill by late spring. And the snowpack of the Sierra Nevada, nearing record levels in the southern portion of the range, continues to grow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Newsom \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2021/07/california-water-use-drought/\">issued his voluntary conservation target\u003c/a> almost two years ago\u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/03/newsom-imposes-new-california-water-restrictions-leaves-details-to-locals/\">,\u003c/a> many water experts said he should have made it mandatory, as former Gov. Jerry Brown did during the previous drought. They also criticized him for failing to reduce use by farmers, who consume 80% of the state’s delivered water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials say even though the 15% target was voluntary, it worked. However, the data does not back that up: Californians \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/california-drought-monitor/\">used 6% less water from July 2021 through December 2022 compared to 2020 \u003c/a>— falling far short of Newsom’s 15% goal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heather Cooley, director of research at the Pacific Institute, an Oakland water supply think tank, said California must not relax its ethos of water conservation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In spite of wet weather, the state’s largest water supply — its groundwater basins — remain depleted.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Even though reservoirs are recovering, groundwater aquifers remain depleted. The Colorado River — a major water source for Southern California — is also facing a massive deficit,” Cooley said. “The reality is we don’t have water to waste in California. We need to continue investing in water efficiency to prepare for a hotter, drier future and more intense droughts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mike McNutt, spokesperson for the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District in Los Angeles County, said the retraction of the conservation target “sends the wrong message” to the public.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Why put out messaging that says something different, that says, ‘You can conserve if you want to, but you don’t need to’?” said McNutt, whose district serving 75,000 people is totally reliant on water from the state aqueduct.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The next drought is certainly just around the corner,” he added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Californians did cut their average water use by 600,000 acre-feet in almost two years\u003cem>. \u003c/em>That’s almost two-thirds the volume of Folsom Reservoir and enough water to serve 1.2 million households in a year.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Crowfoot stressed that the drought is not over, noting that drought status “is not a completely binary situation.” In some parts of the state, drought conditions have dramatically eased, but not in others. Crowfoot said the Klamath River basin and the region of Southern California that relies on Colorado River water continue to face “acute water shortages.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thousands of households lack drinking water due to depleted groundwater basins, which have been overdrafted for decades, and experts agree they \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/water/2023/02/california-depleted-groundwater-storms/\">will not rebound in a single rainy winter.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Joaquin Esquivel, chair of the State Water Resources Control Board, said the hope is that cities “are not just rebounding” to old ways of water use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Conservation remains a priority,” Crowfoot agreed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Anderson, climatologist with the California Department of Water Resources, said snowpack is at 278% of normal, with another storm system expected to hit the North Coast and move inland and south from there starting Monday. The system, he said, will deliver a relatively cold storm originating in the Gulf of Alaska, unlike some recent blasts of tropical moisture. This means it will drop more snow in the mountains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Not massive accumulations, but could be locally heavy,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "How California's Drought Is Changing the Politics of the Nation's Largest, Notoriously Thirsty Farming District",
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"content": "\u003cp>Late in the afternoon on Nov. 14, a historic email landed in the inboxes of hundreds of California farmers whose land lies within the \u003ca href=\"https://wwd.ca.gov/\">Westlands Water District\u003c/a>, the largest agricultural irrigation agency in the country — and one of the most controversial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Westlands has led the fight against environmental rules that restrict the flow of water from California’s rivers to its farmers. It \u003ca href=\"https://www.farmprogress.com/westlands-water-district-files-lawsuit-biological-opinion\">sued the government\u003c/a>, lobbied friendly politicians and took on critics wherever it found them, even in Congress. “Where’s the outrage, that government decisions have created zero water supplies for communities in the San Joaquin Valley?” Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham admonished a congressional committee in 2016.[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Tim Quinn, visiting fellow, Water in the West program, Stanford University\"]‘I spent much of my career in the San Joaquin Valley watching [these groups] fight with each other. I wasn’t really convinced that they were ready for the kind of collaboration that I thought was necessary. And turns out, by God, they were.’[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.watereducation.org/western-water/he-steps-aside-tim-quinn-talks-about-adversarialists-collaboration-and-hope-solving\">Tim Quinn\u003c/a>, former executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, says the leaders of Westlands “were pretty entrenched in adversarial decision-making. It was us versus them, and we were going to win and they were going to lose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email, however, revealed that the old guard at Westlands had been swept aside in voting for board seats at the farmer-run organization. The winning candidates, part of a self-described Change Coalition, are demanding that the district spend less time fighting legal and political battles and more time figuring out ways to live with less water. Birmingham, an imperious figure who has run Westlands for more than 20 years, later announced he’ll retire at the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote is a sign that even in the most conservative parts of California’s Central Valley, the biggest single source of America’s fresh produce, attitudes are shifting. Farmers are coming to terms with the fact that their operations will have to change — and, in many areas, shrink — to survive chronic drought, depleted aquifers and climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A legacy of political power\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://waterwise.ag/about-us\">Sarah Woolf\u003c/a>, one of the new guard, is an unlikely rebel. She grew up in a farming family just outside the boundary of Westlands Water District, then married into another one — the Woolfs, who run one of the biggest farming operations in the district. She became an expert on water policy, and runs her own consulting business, Water Wise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anyone else, she catalyzed the movement for change at Westlands. “I just didn’t feel that it was appropriate to go along to get along,” she says. “We weren’t making positive strides.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand what she wanted to change, you have to go back in time to the 1950s and 1960s. The farmers who’d been growing food on the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley needed water. There are no big rivers on this side of the valley; growers relied instead on deep wells drilled into aquifers. But that underground reservoir wouldn’t last long, and everyone knew it.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11933826,news_11931467\"]The farmers and their backers got the federal government to build a new dam and canal that connected their land to the system of dams and aqueducts known as the Central Valley Project. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B7V-xrvgro\">President Kennedy himself showed up\u003c/a> for the groundbreaking. The new canal delivered water from dams hundreds of miles to the north, like Shasta and Trinity. Westlands Water District was formed to distribute that water to 600,000 acres of land. \u003ca href=\"https://mark-arax.com/the-dreamt-land/\">Mark Arax\u003c/a>, a writer who has chronicled the rise of Central Valley agriculture, calls it an act of “pure political power.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had a fair amount of clout, legislatively,” Woolf says. “We were a very rich district; we had politically active landowners. We hired very talented lobbyists.” The 700 or so farms within Westlands are mostly large, high-tech operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1992, though, Westlands met the limits of its power. Over its protests, Congress enacted the \u003ca href=\"https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/central-valley-project-improvement-act\">Central Valley Project Improvement Act\u003c/a>. This law limited deliveries of water to farmers when this could threaten the survival of wildlife, such as fish in the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Water-Basics/The-Delta\">Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta\u003c/a> — the sprawling network of waterways that empties into the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934738\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11934738 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, a long-sleeved blouse, and a white puffer vest stands in the shade in a field between two rows of trees. She smiles at the camera.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1273\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-800x407.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-1020x519.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-160x81.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-1536x782.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-2048x1043.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-1920x978.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmer and Water Wise business owner Sarah Woolf has been a catalyst for change. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This law, together with rulings from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cut the flow of water to Westlands dramatically during years of drought. Some years, the \u003ca href=\"https://wwd.ca.gov/district-water-supply/\">growers got no water at all\u003c/a>. They were shocked and furious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district’s approach was to fight it. Tooth and nail,” Woolf says. “They hired the best attorneys. They hired the best lobbyists.” Their approach, she says, was simple: “We will fight this and we will win because we are right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet Woolf grew increasingly convinced that this battle was futile. Farmers were up against too many other powerful interests. She decided that cooperation was the only solution and urged Westlands to stop pushing legislation “that was only beneficial to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2012, after she was appointed to a vacant seat on the Westlands board, she tried unsuccessfully to get Westlands to sit down with other groups, including environmentalists, to explore possible compromises. She ended up butting heads with Tom Birmingham, partly over policies and partly over Birmingham’s personal style. “He’s an authoritarian, even a dictator,” Woolf says with a laugh. “It’s his show.” Birmingham declined to be interviewed for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, \u003ca href=\"https://gvwire.com/2018/09/06/woolf-resigns-from-westlands-board-whats-next-for-water-district/\">Woolf resigned from the Westlands board with a public letter of protest\u003c/a>. She wrote that her efforts to “direct our district in a more collaborative and progressive direction” had met stubborn resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then, other farmers started reaching out to her. They were increasingly worried. Drought was becoming more frequent. In four of the past nine years, Westlands has received no water at all from the Central Valley Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Westlands farmers had stayed in business by pumping enormous amounts of groundwater from shrinking aquifers. But a new California law, the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/programs/groundwater-management/sgma-groundwater-management\">Sustainable Groundwater Management Act\u003c/a>, will severely restrict their ability to do this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think this farming community is really struggling at this point,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.redrockranchinc.com/ourteam\">Justin Diener\u003c/a>, whose family grows vegetables and almonds near Five Points. “There are a lot of people who are kind of looking at the walls, wondering what they are going to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I sat down with many of [the growers], gave them the history of what I had seen, and they started attending meetings,” Woolf says. “They started being challenged by the general manager when they would ask questions. And then they got riled up and upset. And we made it clear, if you want to make a change, you have to get on the board and do something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, dissident farmers named themselves The Change Coalition for Westlands Landowners, and settled on four candidates to run for the board. Diener was one of them. Woolf worked behind the scenes, but chose not to run herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Storing water underground\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s a range of views within the Change Coalition about what exactly they’d like to accomplish. Justin Diener wants a realistic plan to survive. With climate change, droughts are persisting longer. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is melting faster. Future floods may be more intense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the most recent decade is a guide to the future, he says, the district can only expect to receive enough water to grow crops on about 300,000 acres in an average year. That’s half the original area of Westlands Water District, and 40% less than what’s available to grow crops today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s worse, the water comes in bursts. In 2017, when rain drenched California, Westlands actually turned away potential water deliveries because no growers wanted it. Other years, the district gets no water at all, except for what it can buy on the open market at exorbitant prices. That’s been especially tough on growers with almond trees that require water every year just to stay alive. Growers now are ripping out some of those parched orchards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s urgently needed, according to Diener and other growers, is the infrastructure to store water underground when it’s abundant, so that it’s available when the rains stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934742\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11934742 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water.jpg\" alt=\"A seemingly endless row of upprooted almond trees by the side of a dry irrigation channel.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-800x405.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-1020x517.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-160x81.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-1536x778.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-2048x1037.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-1920x972.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Almond growers in Westlands Water District have been tearing out their older almond orchards because water is scarce. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sarah Woolf has an example. On some Woolf family land just southeast of the city of Huron, a line of trees alongside the fields marks the course of a dry creek bed. When it rains, that creek bed fills with runoff from foothills to the west. Occasionally, every half-dozen years or so, it floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The creek’s natural course is blocked by a giant canal, part of the Central Valley Project, so floodwater spills across a floodplain. Because built-up silt prevents it from percolating into the earth, much of it simply evaporates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Woolfs and other neighboring landowners have now \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.edf.org/growingreturns/2022/04/04/farmland-repurposing-project-benefits-groundwater-recharge-flood-management-community-resilience/\">built a system to capture and store that water\u003c/a>. When the next flood comes, they’ll divert that water to a field where it will soak into the ground, all the way down to the aquifer. Farmers — and the nearby city of Huron — will be able to pump that water from their wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Westlands should be doing much more of this, Woolf says. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/1037370430/water-is-scarce-in-california-but-farmers-have-found-ways-to-store-it-undergroun\">Other water agencies in the San Joaquin Valley certainly are.\u003c/a> But Westlands has lagged behind. “That’s a lack of vision, and a lack of focus on things that we can control,” says \u003ca href=\"https://es.ucmerced.edu/seminars/jonReiter\">Jon Reiter\u003c/a>, a farmer and consultant who works with Westlands growers. Instead, Westlands focused “on things that we can’t control,” like decisions by courts and Congress, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replenishing the aquifers during periodic storms won’t bring back the old days, of course. It can ease the pain during drought, but it also means that growers can’t expand their fields when water is plentiful. They’ll have to restrain themselves, keeping land fallow, allowing that water to soak into the ground so it’s there when they truly need it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Talking with adversaries\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sarah Woolf, meanwhile, wants Westlands to be a better neighbor. “What we do is important; growing food is important, it’s something to be proud of,” she says. “But if we’re just fighting with people, I’m not very proud of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fighting, she says, blocks discussions — and, potentially, compromises — between farmers and other groups with their own claims on California’s water. This shift in approach is already underway at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mwdoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/San-Joaquin-Valley-Water-Collaborative-Action-Program-Prospectus.pdf\">San Joaquin Valley Water Collaborative Action Program (PDF)\u003c/a>, formed in 2020. It brings together farmers, advocates for safe drinking water in marginalized communities, local governments, water agencies and environmentalists. Westlands is not participating, but Sarah Woolf and Jon Reiter are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spent much of my career in the San Joaquin Valley watching [these groups] fight with each other,” says Tim Quinn, now a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s \u003ca href=\"https://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/\">Water in the West \u003c/a>program, who helped launch the group. “I wasn’t really convinced that they were ready for the kind of collaboration that I thought was necessary. And turns out, by God, they were.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934736\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11934736\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Latino man with greying hair looks past the camera and out a window while seated indoors.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rey León, activist mayor of the small farmworker town of Huron. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few weeks ago, the group released its goals, which include safe drinking water for communities that don’t have it now, better management of water for agriculture, and coordinated shifts in the use of land, including converting some previously irrigated farmland into habitat for wildlife. “That’s the future,” says Quinn. “You can’t make progress in 21st-century California without adopting a collaborative approach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Westlands, collaboration of this sort might mean working with \u003ca href=\"https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/online/riding-around-with-mayor-rey-leon/\">Rey León\u003c/a>, mayor of the mostly Latino town of Huron, in the heart of the Westlands Water District. He’s launched efforts to plant trees, reuse wastewater, share electric cars and build bike lanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s had very little contact with Westlands and has never met Tom Birmingham. Most of the landowners of Westlands don’t live nearby, on the land that they farm, but in Fresno, 30 or more miles away. Yet the fate of Huron’s residents has long been linked to decisions that those landowners make about water and farming. Farmworkers no longer crowd the town at harvest time, since many growers switched from vegetables that require hand labor. Instead they are growing almonds that are harvested by machine. If there’s another shift, this time from agriculture to, say, solar farms, León wants local residents to get access to those jobs. “We have to be innovative, and develop new models of collaboration, because they haven’t existed in the past,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Change wins\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In October, a month before the Westlands board election, the candidates who were running as the Change Coalition laid out their priorities in a letter to Westlands landowners. They proposed storing more water underground, relying less on “legal and political solutions” to the district’s water problems. They also advocated developing a long-term plan for the district’s land that includes other uses, such as solar farms and wildlife habitat, and improving relationships with “moderate environmental groups, disadvantaged communities, and safe drinking water advocates.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Change Coalition candidates won all four seats up for grabs. Together with two allies already on the nine-member board, it gives them a majority. A week after the election results were announced, \u003ca href=\"https://wwd.ca.gov/wwd-media/press-release-11-23-2022/\">Tom Birmingham announced he’d be stepping down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Errotabere, a retiring member of the board who supported Birmingham, is skeptical that the new board members really will do anything different, or better, than their predecessors. He says he examined the Change Coalition’s program and “there’s nothing that we’re not doing. We are doing all those things. I think they’ll recognize that, when they get on the board, and they see all the fine details.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Quinn calls the Westlands transition a “sea change.” Mark Arax, the author, says it’s a historic step for the leaders of Westlands to accept the fact that water is scarce, and that their farms will have to shrink. “I don’t think that’s window dressing,” he says. “I think it’s a real change, and if that’s acknowledged, that’s a big story. Westlands, this behemoth, has cut itself in half.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story was produced in collaboration with the \u003ca href=\"https://thefern.org\">Food and Environment Reporting Network\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "How California's Drought Is Changing the Politics of the Nation's Largest, Notoriously Thirsty Farming District | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Late in the afternoon on Nov. 14, a historic email landed in the inboxes of hundreds of California farmers whose land lies within the \u003ca href=\"https://wwd.ca.gov/\">Westlands Water District\u003c/a>, the largest agricultural irrigation agency in the country — and one of the most controversial.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For decades, Westlands has led the fight against environmental rules that restrict the flow of water from California’s rivers to its farmers. It \u003ca href=\"https://www.farmprogress.com/westlands-water-district-files-lawsuit-biological-opinion\">sued the government\u003c/a>, lobbied friendly politicians and took on critics wherever it found them, even in Congress. “Where’s the outrage, that government decisions have created zero water supplies for communities in the San Joaquin Valley?” Westlands General Manager Tom Birmingham admonished a congressional committee in 2016.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I spent much of my career in the San Joaquin Valley watching [these groups] fight with each other. I wasn’t really convinced that they were ready for the kind of collaboration that I thought was necessary. And turns out, by God, they were.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.watereducation.org/western-water/he-steps-aside-tim-quinn-talks-about-adversarialists-collaboration-and-hope-solving\">Tim Quinn\u003c/a>, former executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, says the leaders of Westlands “were pretty entrenched in adversarial decision-making. It was us versus them, and we were going to win and they were going to lose.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The email, however, revealed that the old guard at Westlands had been swept aside in voting for board seats at the farmer-run organization. The winning candidates, part of a self-described Change Coalition, are demanding that the district spend less time fighting legal and political battles and more time figuring out ways to live with less water. Birmingham, an imperious figure who has run Westlands for more than 20 years, later announced he’ll retire at the end of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vote is a sign that even in the most conservative parts of California’s Central Valley, the biggest single source of America’s fresh produce, attitudes are shifting. Farmers are coming to terms with the fact that their operations will have to change — and, in many areas, shrink — to survive chronic drought, depleted aquifers and climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>A legacy of political power\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://waterwise.ag/about-us\">Sarah Woolf\u003c/a>, one of the new guard, is an unlikely rebel. She grew up in a farming family just outside the boundary of Westlands Water District, then married into another one — the Woolfs, who run one of the biggest farming operations in the district. She became an expert on water policy, and runs her own consulting business, Water Wise.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>More than anyone else, she catalyzed the movement for change at Westlands. “I just didn’t feel that it was appropriate to go along to get along,” she says. “We weren’t making positive strides.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To understand what she wanted to change, you have to go back in time to the 1950s and 1960s. The farmers who’d been growing food on the western edge of the San Joaquin Valley needed water. There are no big rivers on this side of the valley; growers relied instead on deep wells drilled into aquifers. But that underground reservoir wouldn’t last long, and everyone knew it.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The farmers and their backers got the federal government to build a new dam and canal that connected their land to the system of dams and aqueducts known as the Central Valley Project. \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B7V-xrvgro\">President Kennedy himself showed up\u003c/a> for the groundbreaking. The new canal delivered water from dams hundreds of miles to the north, like Shasta and Trinity. Westlands Water District was formed to distribute that water to 600,000 acres of land. \u003ca href=\"https://mark-arax.com/the-dreamt-land/\">Mark Arax\u003c/a>, a writer who has chronicled the rise of Central Valley agriculture, calls it an act of “pure political power.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had a fair amount of clout, legislatively,” Woolf says. “We were a very rich district; we had politically active landowners. We hired very talented lobbyists.” The 700 or so farms within Westlands are mostly large, high-tech operations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1992, though, Westlands met the limits of its power. Over its protests, Congress enacted the \u003ca href=\"https://www.watereducation.org/aquapedia/central-valley-project-improvement-act\">Central Valley Project Improvement Act\u003c/a>. This law limited deliveries of water to farmers when this could threaten the survival of wildlife, such as fish in the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/Water-Basics/The-Delta\">Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta\u003c/a> — the sprawling network of waterways that empties into the San Francisco Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934738\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11934738 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater.jpg\" alt=\"A middle-aged white woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, a long-sleeved blouse, and a white puffer vest stands in the shade in a field between two rows of trees. She smiles at the camera.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1273\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-800x407.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-1020x519.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-160x81.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-1536x782.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-2048x1043.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01c.-WestlandsWater-1920x978.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Farmer and Water Wise business owner Sarah Woolf has been a catalyst for change. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>This law, together with rulings from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, cut the flow of water to Westlands dramatically during years of drought. Some years, the \u003ca href=\"https://wwd.ca.gov/district-water-supply/\">growers got no water at all\u003c/a>. They were shocked and furious.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The district’s approach was to fight it. Tooth and nail,” Woolf says. “They hired the best attorneys. They hired the best lobbyists.” Their approach, she says, was simple: “We will fight this and we will win because we are right.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet Woolf grew increasingly convinced that this battle was futile. Farmers were up against too many other powerful interests. She decided that cooperation was the only solution and urged Westlands to stop pushing legislation “that was only beneficial to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2012, after she was appointed to a vacant seat on the Westlands board, she tried unsuccessfully to get Westlands to sit down with other groups, including environmentalists, to explore possible compromises. She ended up butting heads with Tom Birmingham, partly over policies and partly over Birmingham’s personal style. “He’s an authoritarian, even a dictator,” Woolf says with a laugh. “It’s his show.” Birmingham declined to be interviewed for this story.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2018, \u003ca href=\"https://gvwire.com/2018/09/06/woolf-resigns-from-westlands-board-whats-next-for-water-district/\">Woolf resigned from the Westlands board with a public letter of protest\u003c/a>. She wrote that her efforts to “direct our district in a more collaborative and progressive direction” had met stubborn resistance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But then, other farmers started reaching out to her. They were increasingly worried. Drought was becoming more frequent. In four of the past nine years, Westlands has received no water at all from the Central Valley Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Westlands farmers had stayed in business by pumping enormous amounts of groundwater from shrinking aquifers. But a new California law, the \u003ca href=\"https://water.ca.gov/programs/groundwater-management/sgma-groundwater-management\">Sustainable Groundwater Management Act\u003c/a>, will severely restrict their ability to do this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think this farming community is really struggling at this point,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.redrockranchinc.com/ourteam\">Justin Diener\u003c/a>, whose family grows vegetables and almonds near Five Points. “There are a lot of people who are kind of looking at the walls, wondering what they are going to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I sat down with many of [the growers], gave them the history of what I had seen, and they started attending meetings,” Woolf says. “They started being challenged by the general manager when they would ask questions. And then they got riled up and upset. And we made it clear, if you want to make a change, you have to get on the board and do something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, dissident farmers named themselves The Change Coalition for Westlands Landowners, and settled on four candidates to run for the board. Diener was one of them. Woolf worked behind the scenes, but chose not to run herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Storing water underground\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>There’s a range of views within the Change Coalition about what exactly they’d like to accomplish. Justin Diener wants a realistic plan to survive. With climate change, droughts are persisting longer. The snowpack in the Sierra Nevada is melting faster. Future floods may be more intense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the most recent decade is a guide to the future, he says, the district can only expect to receive enough water to grow crops on about 300,000 acres in an average year. That’s half the original area of Westlands Water District, and 40% less than what’s available to grow crops today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s worse, the water comes in bursts. In 2017, when rain drenched California, Westlands actually turned away potential water deliveries because no growers wanted it. Other years, the district gets no water at all, except for what it can buy on the open market at exorbitant prices. That’s been especially tough on growers with almond trees that require water every year just to stay alive. Growers now are ripping out some of those parched orchards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What’s urgently needed, according to Diener and other growers, is the infrastructure to store water underground when it’s abundant, so that it’s available when the rains stop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934742\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2500px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11934742 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water.jpg\" alt=\"A seemingly endless row of upprooted almond trees by the side of a dry irrigation channel.\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water.jpg 2500w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-800x405.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-1020x517.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-160x81.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-1536x778.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-2048x1037.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/01a.-Westlands-Water-1920x972.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2500px) 100vw, 2500px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Almond growers in Westlands Water District have been tearing out their older almond orchards because water is scarce. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sarah Woolf has an example. On some Woolf family land just southeast of the city of Huron, a line of trees alongside the fields marks the course of a dry creek bed. When it rains, that creek bed fills with runoff from foothills to the west. Occasionally, every half-dozen years or so, it floods.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The creek’s natural course is blocked by a giant canal, part of the Central Valley Project, so floodwater spills across a floodplain. Because built-up silt prevents it from percolating into the earth, much of it simply evaporates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Woolfs and other neighboring landowners have now \u003ca href=\"https://blogs.edf.org/growingreturns/2022/04/04/farmland-repurposing-project-benefits-groundwater-recharge-flood-management-community-resilience/\">built a system to capture and store that water\u003c/a>. When the next flood comes, they’ll divert that water to a field where it will soak into the ground, all the way down to the aquifer. Farmers — and the nearby city of Huron — will be able to pump that water from their wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Westlands should be doing much more of this, Woolf says. \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2021/10/05/1037370430/water-is-scarce-in-california-but-farmers-have-found-ways-to-store-it-undergroun\">Other water agencies in the San Joaquin Valley certainly are.\u003c/a> But Westlands has lagged behind. “That’s a lack of vision, and a lack of focus on things that we can control,” says \u003ca href=\"https://es.ucmerced.edu/seminars/jonReiter\">Jon Reiter\u003c/a>, a farmer and consultant who works with Westlands growers. Instead, Westlands focused “on things that we can’t control,” like decisions by courts and Congress, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Replenishing the aquifers during periodic storms won’t bring back the old days, of course. It can ease the pain during drought, but it also means that growers can’t expand their fields when water is plentiful. They’ll have to restrain themselves, keeping land fallow, allowing that water to soak into the ground so it’s there when they truly need it.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Talking with adversaries\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Sarah Woolf, meanwhile, wants Westlands to be a better neighbor. “What we do is important; growing food is important, it’s something to be proud of,” she says. “But if we’re just fighting with people, I’m not very proud of that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fighting, she says, blocks discussions — and, potentially, compromises — between farmers and other groups with their own claims on California’s water. This shift in approach is already underway at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.mwdoc.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/San-Joaquin-Valley-Water-Collaborative-Action-Program-Prospectus.pdf\">San Joaquin Valley Water Collaborative Action Program (PDF)\u003c/a>, formed in 2020. It brings together farmers, advocates for safe drinking water in marginalized communities, local governments, water agencies and environmentalists. Westlands is not participating, but Sarah Woolf and Jon Reiter are.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I spent much of my career in the San Joaquin Valley watching [these groups] fight with each other,” says Tim Quinn, now a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s \u003ca href=\"https://waterinthewest.stanford.edu/\">Water in the West \u003c/a>program, who helped launch the group. “I wasn’t really convinced that they were ready for the kind of collaboration that I thought was necessary. And turns out, by God, they were.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934736\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11934736\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Latino man with greying hair looks past the camera and out a window while seated indoors.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1707\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/Mayor-Ray-Leon-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rey León, activist mayor of the small farmworker town of Huron. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A few weeks ago, the group released its goals, which include safe drinking water for communities that don’t have it now, better management of water for agriculture, and coordinated shifts in the use of land, including converting some previously irrigated farmland into habitat for wildlife. “That’s the future,” says Quinn. “You can’t make progress in 21st-century California without adopting a collaborative approach.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Westlands, collaboration of this sort might mean working with \u003ca href=\"https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/online/riding-around-with-mayor-rey-leon/\">Rey León\u003c/a>, mayor of the mostly Latino town of Huron, in the heart of the Westlands Water District. He’s launched efforts to plant trees, reuse wastewater, share electric cars and build bike lanes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s had very little contact with Westlands and has never met Tom Birmingham. Most of the landowners of Westlands don’t live nearby, on the land that they farm, but in Fresno, 30 or more miles away. Yet the fate of Huron’s residents has long been linked to decisions that those landowners make about water and farming. Farmworkers no longer crowd the town at harvest time, since many growers switched from vegetables that require hand labor. Instead they are growing almonds that are harvested by machine. If there’s another shift, this time from agriculture to, say, solar farms, León wants local residents to get access to those jobs. “We have to be innovative, and develop new models of collaboration, because they haven’t existed in the past,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Change wins\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>In October, a month before the Westlands board election, the candidates who were running as the Change Coalition laid out their priorities in a letter to Westlands landowners. They proposed storing more water underground, relying less on “legal and political solutions” to the district’s water problems. They also advocated developing a long-term plan for the district’s land that includes other uses, such as solar farms and wildlife habitat, and improving relationships with “moderate environmental groups, disadvantaged communities, and safe drinking water advocates.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Change Coalition candidates won all four seats up for grabs. Together with two allies already on the nine-member board, it gives them a majority. A week after the election results were announced, \u003ca href=\"https://wwd.ca.gov/wwd-media/press-release-11-23-2022/\">Tom Birmingham announced he’d be stepping down\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dan Errotabere, a retiring member of the board who supported Birmingham, is skeptical that the new board members really will do anything different, or better, than their predecessors. He says he examined the Change Coalition’s program and “there’s nothing that we’re not doing. We are doing all those things. I think they’ll recognize that, when they get on the board, and they see all the fine details.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Quinn calls the Westlands transition a “sea change.” Mark Arax, the author, says it’s a historic step for the leaders of Westlands to accept the fact that water is scarce, and that their farms will have to shrink. “I don’t think that’s window dressing,” he says. “I think it’s a real change, and if that’s acknowledged, that’s a big story. Westlands, this behemoth, has cut itself in half.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This story was produced in collaboration with the \u003ca href=\"https://thefern.org\">Food and Environment Reporting Network\u003c/a>.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Cities Will Receive Only Tiny Fraction of Requested State Water Supplies in 2023",
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"content": "\u003cp>California water agencies that serve 27 million people will get just 5% of what they requested from the state to start 2023, water officials announced Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news of limited water comes as California concludes its driest three-year stretch on record and as water managers brace for a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-weather-climate-and-environment-6f591a7e40f39a0d804706b507fd4022\">fourth year\u003c/a> with below-average precipitation. But if the winter is wetter than expected, the state could boost how much supply it plans to give out — as it did last year when allocations started at 0% and ended the winter at 5%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Absent an end to the drought, water-saving measures are poised to continue, including calls for people to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-colorado-river-droughts-business-889078912d1428e91477c254228a92b1\">rip up decorative grass\u003c/a>, limit outdoor watering, take shorter showers and run dishwashers only when full. Much of California is in extreme or exceptional drought, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA\">U.S. Drought Monitor.\u003c/a>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Michael McNutt, spokesman, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District\"]‘We’re all just sort of holding our breath to see what mother nature does.’[/pullquote]A \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-san-francisco-weather-reno-c7d4f730189ab760a40e255711de68a5\">storm\u003c/a> currently bringing snow and rain to the northern end of the state has been welcome news, but people shouldn’t get too optimistic, warned Michael Anderson, the state climatologist. Last year two major storms in October and December were followed by months of bone-dry weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t get too carried away by any one storm,” Anderson told reporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of California’s water supply comes from snow that falls in the mountains during the winter and enters the watershed as it melts through spring. Some of it is stored in reservoirs for later use, while some is sent south through massive pumping systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The system is known as the State Water Project, and it provides water to two-thirds of the state’s people and 1,172 square miles of farmland. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which services Los Angeles and much of Southern California, relies on the state for about one-third of its water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southern California’s supply is further threatened by the ongoing crisis afflicting the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/arizona-california-colorado-river-1736e64e6c30db3a10c9d2dedd948930\">Colorado River\u003c/a>, another major source for the heavily populated region. The district is working on a massive water recycling plant to eventually supplement supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Metropolitan is doing everything we can to alleviate the immediate crisis and make investments to provide more tools than emergency conservation alone,” Adel Hagekhalil, the district’s general manager, said in a statement. “But now we need the public’s help. We can get through this by working together.”[aside label='Related Articles' tag='drought']Some districts with limited water supplies may get additional water if the 5% isn’t enough to cover critical health and safety needs, said Molly White, water operations manager for the State Water Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the uncertainty about how long the drought will last, the state wants to keep water in Lake Oroville, its largest reservoir. Right now, it’s about half as full as it usually is at this time of year. So officials plan to tap excess water from winter storms to provide the 5% supply and take some water out of the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, White said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re all just sort of holding our breath to see what mother nature does,” said Michael McNutt, spokesman for Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which serves some wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles and relies almost exclusively on state supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district may completely ban outdoor watering if dry conditions persist, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government also controls some water supply in California, much of which goes to farmers in the vast Central Valley who grow fruits, nuts and vegetables. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation doesn’t issue its first water allocations until February but on Monday warned farmers and cities to prepare for limited supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If drought conditions extend into 2023, Reclamation will find it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to meet all the competing needs of the Central Valley Project without beginning the implementation of additional and more severe water conservation actions,” the bureau said in a news release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California water agencies that serve 27 million people will get just 5% of what they requested from the state to start 2023, water officials announced Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news of limited water comes as California concludes its driest three-year stretch on record and as water managers brace for a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-weather-climate-and-environment-6f591a7e40f39a0d804706b507fd4022\">fourth year\u003c/a> with below-average precipitation. But if the winter is wetter than expected, the state could boost how much supply it plans to give out — as it did last year when allocations started at 0% and ended the winter at 5%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Absent an end to the drought, water-saving measures are poised to continue, including calls for people to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-colorado-river-droughts-business-889078912d1428e91477c254228a92b1\">rip up decorative grass\u003c/a>, limit outdoor watering, take shorter showers and run dishwashers only when full. Much of California is in extreme or exceptional drought, according to the \u003ca href=\"https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA\">U.S. Drought Monitor.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-san-francisco-weather-reno-c7d4f730189ab760a40e255711de68a5\">storm\u003c/a> currently bringing snow and rain to the northern end of the state has been welcome news, but people shouldn’t get too optimistic, warned Michael Anderson, the state climatologist. Last year two major storms in October and December were followed by months of bone-dry weather.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Don’t get too carried away by any one storm,” Anderson told reporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of California’s water supply comes from snow that falls in the mountains during the winter and enters the watershed as it melts through spring. Some of it is stored in reservoirs for later use, while some is sent south through massive pumping systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The system is known as the State Water Project, and it provides water to two-thirds of the state’s people and 1,172 square miles of farmland. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which services Los Angeles and much of Southern California, relies on the state for about one-third of its water supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Southern California’s supply is further threatened by the ongoing crisis afflicting the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/arizona-california-colorado-river-1736e64e6c30db3a10c9d2dedd948930\">Colorado River\u003c/a>, another major source for the heavily populated region. The district is working on a massive water recycling plant to eventually supplement supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Metropolitan is doing everything we can to alleviate the immediate crisis and make investments to provide more tools than emergency conservation alone,” Adel Hagekhalil, the district’s general manager, said in a statement. “But now we need the public’s help. We can get through this by working together.”\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some districts with limited water supplies may get additional water if the 5% isn’t enough to cover critical health and safety needs, said Molly White, water operations manager for the State Water Project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Given the uncertainty about how long the drought will last, the state wants to keep water in Lake Oroville, its largest reservoir. Right now, it’s about half as full as it usually is at this time of year. So officials plan to tap excess water from winter storms to provide the 5% supply and take some water out of the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County, White said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re all just sort of holding our breath to see what mother nature does,” said Michael McNutt, spokesman for Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which serves some wealthy suburbs of Los Angeles and relies almost exclusively on state supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district may completely ban outdoor watering if dry conditions persist, he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The federal government also controls some water supply in California, much of which goes to farmers in the vast Central Valley who grow fruits, nuts and vegetables. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation doesn’t issue its first water allocations until February but on Monday warned farmers and cities to prepare for limited supplies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If drought conditions extend into 2023, Reclamation will find it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to meet all the competing needs of the Central Valley Project without beginning the implementation of additional and more severe water conservation actions,” the bureau said in a news release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The National Weather Service forecasts widespread soaking rain across Northern California this weekend, which is expected to give the region a temporary respite from the drought-fueled threat of wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But strong winds sweeping through Northern California ahead of the storm could also make things harder for firefighters working to contain the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11925573/firefighters-report-steady-gains-against-mosquito-fire-now-states-largest-of-the-year\">Mosquito Fire\u003c/a> west of Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11925573,news_11924950\"]Meteorologists expect colder temperatures and precipitation, including 1 to 2 inches of rain for much of the Bay Area — likely beginning Sunday morning — with more falling in the North Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the precipitation couldn’t come at a more crucial time: California’s forests are critically dry after an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11925495/were-gonna-have-to-meet-this-challenge-again-last-weeks-historic-heatwave\">extended heat wave\u003c/a>. Northern California fire agencies are calling the upcoming storm “\u003ca href=\"https://gacc.nifc.gov/oncc/predictive/weather/7Day.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a significant fire season slowing event\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Placer and El Dorado counties, where the Mosquito Fire has grown to nearly 70,000 acres and remains 20% contained, the weather system is expected to bring anywhere from 1/4 inch to more than 1 inch of rainfall over several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, stronger winds are also expected to arrive in the area beginning Saturday, and the winds could throw burning embers and create spot fires. That would be a setback for firefighters working to contain the week-old, nearly 106-square-mile blaze, which on Wednesday became the largest in the state so far this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weekend’s forecast is “a bit of a mixed blessing here,” Fire Behavior Analyst Jonathan Pangburn said Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The forecast came as firefighters again prevented flames from entering a mountain town and reported major progress Thursday, just two days after the fire roared back to life and burned structures near Foresthill. Crews on the ground built up containment lines while water-dropping helicopters knocked down hotspots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conditions on the ground Thursday were “looking a whole heck of a lot better,” according to fire spokesman Scott McLean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s looking really good on the west end where we had that dramatic increase of fire earlier this week,” McLean said Thursday. Flames raced up a drainage ditch into a neighborhood, but firefighters saved all the homes. Evacuation orders remained for some 11,000 residents because of the unpredictable nature of the winds, McLean said, which typically blow in the direction of several canyons and could rapidly spread flames if gusts pick up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in its history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This weekend’s rain is forecast to be a one-off event, said meteorologists, and likely won’t produce enough moisture to end this year’s fire season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We still have another month and a half before we might be seeing a regular progression of storms — assuming that’s going to happen this year,” said Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Jose State University. “In the interim, October through early November, is when we start seeing our Diablo winds here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those autumn wind events have been a key factor in recent wildfire disasters in the Bay Area, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11654027/my-world-was-burning-the-north-bay-fires-and-what-went-wrong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the North Bay fires of 2017\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782251/kincade-fire-sonoma-county-geyserville-healdsburg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kincade Fire\u003c/a> in 2019, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11839923/napa-county-glass-fire-at-800-acres-smoke-and-ash-spreading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Glass Fire\u003c/a> in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unless we get more storms after this one, things are going to dry back out in a week or two,” Null said. “The forests and wildlands are in such dry condition that this will put a temporary hold on things but not end the season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Dan Brekke and Kevin Stark contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A welcome colder weather system could bring up to 2 inches of rain to parts of the Bay Area this weekend — but strong winds are also predicted, making the forecast a \"mixed blessing\" for crews working to contain the Mosquito Fire near Lake Tahoe. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The National Weather Service forecasts widespread soaking rain across Northern California this weekend, which is expected to give the region a temporary respite from the drought-fueled threat of wildfires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But strong winds sweeping through Northern California ahead of the storm could also make things harder for firefighters working to contain the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11925573/firefighters-report-steady-gains-against-mosquito-fire-now-states-largest-of-the-year\">Mosquito Fire\u003c/a> west of Lake Tahoe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Meteorologists expect colder temperatures and precipitation, including 1 to 2 inches of rain for much of the Bay Area — likely beginning Sunday morning — with more falling in the North Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Experts say the precipitation couldn’t come at a more crucial time: California’s forests are critically dry after an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11925495/were-gonna-have-to-meet-this-challenge-again-last-weeks-historic-heatwave\">extended heat wave\u003c/a>. Northern California fire agencies are calling the upcoming storm “\u003ca href=\"https://gacc.nifc.gov/oncc/predictive/weather/7Day.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a significant fire season slowing event\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Placer and El Dorado counties, where the Mosquito Fire has grown to nearly 70,000 acres and remains 20% contained, the weather system is expected to bring anywhere from 1/4 inch to more than 1 inch of rainfall over several days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, stronger winds are also expected to arrive in the area beginning Saturday, and the winds could throw burning embers and create spot fires. That would be a setback for firefighters working to contain the week-old, nearly 106-square-mile blaze, which on Wednesday became the largest in the state so far this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The weekend’s forecast is “a bit of a mixed blessing here,” Fire Behavior Analyst Jonathan Pangburn said Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The forecast came as firefighters again prevented flames from entering a mountain town and reported major progress Thursday, just two days after the fire roared back to life and burned structures near Foresthill. Crews on the ground built up containment lines while water-dropping helicopters knocked down hotspots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Conditions on the ground Thursday were “looking a whole heck of a lot better,” according to fire spokesman Scott McLean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s looking really good on the west end where we had that dramatic increase of fire earlier this week,” McLean said Thursday. Flames raced up a drainage ditch into a neighborhood, but firefighters saved all the homes. Evacuation orders remained for some 11,000 residents because of the unpredictable nature of the winds, McLean said, which typically blow in the direction of several canyons and could rapidly spread flames if gusts pick up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in its history.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This weekend’s rain is forecast to be a one-off event, said meteorologists, and likely won’t produce enough moisture to end this year’s fire season.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We still have another month and a half before we might be seeing a regular progression of storms — assuming that’s going to happen this year,” said Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Jose State University. “In the interim, October through early November, is when we start seeing our Diablo winds here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those autumn wind events have been a key factor in recent wildfire disasters in the Bay Area, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11654027/my-world-was-burning-the-north-bay-fires-and-what-went-wrong\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the North Bay fires of 2017\u003c/a>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11782251/kincade-fire-sonoma-county-geyserville-healdsburg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kincade Fire\u003c/a> in 2019, and the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11839923/napa-county-glass-fire-at-800-acres-smoke-and-ash-spreading\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Glass Fire\u003c/a> in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Unless we get more storms after this one, things are going to dry back out in a week or two,” Null said. “The forests and wildlands are in such dry condition that this will put a temporary hold on things but not end the season.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s Dan Brekke and Kevin Stark contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-water-use-drops-10-in-july-amid-ongoing-drought",
"title": "California Water Use Drops 10% in July Amid Ongoing Drought",
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"content": "\u003cp>Californians stepped up their water conservation in July, using 10.4% less than two years ago as the state struggles with a years-long drought, water officials said Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>July marks the first full month that new conservation rules like \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-government-and-politics-gavin-newsom-water-use-3a2c46fc2de40023f14ccc906106cea0\">a ban on watering decorative grass\u003c/a> went into effect, which officials said helped make a difference. Water use started to trend down in June after a bump in April and May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, conservation over the past year falls far short of the 15% drop Gov. Gavin Newsom requested last summer, as the state fought to maintain critical water supplies in anticipation of a drier year ahead. Statewide, water use is down since then by just 3.4% compared with 2020, the year Newsom is measuring against.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The State Water Resources Control Board reported the monthly numbers, based on data from urban water suppliers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Last summer the savings numbers were slow to ramp up because the governor’s call had just gone into effect. But the most recent numbers show how far we’ve come,” said Marielle Rhodeiro, a research data specialist with the board. “We can see some achievements — quite heartening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of California remains gripped by a severe drought, with many counties throughout the hot, dry Central Valley in “exceptional” drought, the highest category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, the board’s monthly report came as a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-utilities-climate-and-environment-6aa55ccf58a3357a6c07ecf08ac0bbca\">heat wave\u003c/a> that has lasted for longer than a week continues to blanket the state, forcing unprecedented power demands. It’s not yet clear how the abnormally hot September temperatures will change water use for the month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents on average used 104 gallons per day in July, 12 gallons per day less than a year ago. It was the lowest July water use since mandatory restrictions in July 2015, when usage dropped to 98 gallons per person per day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"california-drought\"]“What a ride it’s been,” said the board’s chair, E. Joaquin Esquivel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that we need to keep the momentum going,” he later added, warning that the state seems likely to face another winter with below-average precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three of the state’s 10 water regions exceeded 15% savings, Rhodeiro said, with the North Coast region “completely blowing it out of the water” with usage that fell 28.5% as compared to July 2020. The Bay Area used 17.3% less, and the South Lahontan region, which includes numerous mountain ranges, used about 16% less, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water use decreased early last winter after a series of storms, but it soared through March when the rains stopped and led to the driest first quarter on record. Newsom doubled down with a $100 million advertising campaign urging water conservation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s \u003ca href=\"http://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=RES\">main reservoirs are well below their historic averages\u003c/a> despite some late April storms. They largely depend on snow melt that flows downstream from the Sierra Nevada. But the statewide snowpack was at just 27% of its historic average as of April 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lake Shasta, the state’s largest reservoir, and Lake Oroville, the second largest, are both just over one-third of their capacity, and well below their historic averages for this time of year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are in general significantly below historic averages,” Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for water rights, told the water board. “That trend is continuing, and there’s no clear precipitation on the horizon, with maybe the exception of Southern California, which may see some tropical moisture toward the end of the week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Urban water use accounts for a relatively small percentage of California’s overall water use, as compared to the outsize volume used for agriculture. But state and federal officials also have reduced agricultural water allocations to zero in some places.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has declared drought emergencies for 11 communities, where it is providing bottled or hauled water to more than 2,700 people. There are drought warnings for another 35 communities, which are receiving funding to cope with less water. Drought watches are in place for 2,018 communities that could be in danger of water shortages in the next year. The worst-hit areas are concentrated in the San Joaquin Valley and Russian River drainage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, about 4 million people in parts of Los Angeles County this week were \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-colorado-river-0552f9996008a992df99bf60dabbe35c\">banned from outdoor watering\u003c/a> for 15 days so that workers can repair a major pipeline that delivers Colorado River water to seven cities and four local water districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Even so, statewide water use this year is down just 3.4% from 2020 rates, far short of the 15% Gov. Gavin Newsom requested.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Californians stepped up their water conservation in July, using 10.4% less than two years ago as the state struggles with a years-long drought, water officials said Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>July marks the first full month that new conservation rules like \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-government-and-politics-gavin-newsom-water-use-3a2c46fc2de40023f14ccc906106cea0\">a ban on watering decorative grass\u003c/a> went into effect, which officials said helped make a difference. Water use started to trend down in June after a bump in April and May.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, conservation over the past year falls far short of the 15% drop Gov. Gavin Newsom requested last summer, as the state fought to maintain critical water supplies in anticipation of a drier year ahead. Statewide, water use is down since then by just 3.4% compared with 2020, the year Newsom is measuring against.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The State Water Resources Control Board reported the monthly numbers, based on data from urban water suppliers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Last summer the savings numbers were slow to ramp up because the governor’s call had just gone into effect. But the most recent numbers show how far we’ve come,” said Marielle Rhodeiro, a research data specialist with the board. “We can see some achievements — quite heartening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of California remains gripped by a severe drought, with many counties throughout the hot, dry Central Valley in “exceptional” drought, the highest category, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Meanwhile, the board’s monthly report came as a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-utilities-climate-and-environment-6aa55ccf58a3357a6c07ecf08ac0bbca\">heat wave\u003c/a> that has lasted for longer than a week continues to blanket the state, forcing unprecedented power demands. It’s not yet clear how the abnormally hot September temperatures will change water use for the month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Residents on average used 104 gallons per day in July, 12 gallons per day less than a year ago. It was the lowest July water use since mandatory restrictions in July 2015, when usage dropped to 98 gallons per person per day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“What a ride it’s been,” said the board’s chair, E. Joaquin Esquivel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We know that we need to keep the momentum going,” he later added, warning that the state seems likely to face another winter with below-average precipitation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three of the state’s 10 water regions exceeded 15% savings, Rhodeiro said, with the North Coast region “completely blowing it out of the water” with usage that fell 28.5% as compared to July 2020. The Bay Area used 17.3% less, and the South Lahontan region, which includes numerous mountain ranges, used about 16% less, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water use decreased early last winter after a series of storms, but it soared through March when the rains stopped and led to the driest first quarter on record. Newsom doubled down with a $100 million advertising campaign urging water conservation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state’s \u003ca href=\"http://cdec.water.ca.gov/reportapp/javareports?name=RES\">main reservoirs are well below their historic averages\u003c/a> despite some late April storms. They largely depend on snow melt that flows downstream from the Sierra Nevada. But the statewide snowpack was at just 27% of its historic average as of April 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lake Shasta, the state’s largest reservoir, and Lake Oroville, the second largest, are both just over one-third of their capacity, and well below their historic averages for this time of year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Things are in general significantly below historic averages,” Erik Ekdahl, deputy director for water rights, told the water board. “That trend is continuing, and there’s no clear precipitation on the horizon, with maybe the exception of Southern California, which may see some tropical moisture toward the end of the week.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Urban water use accounts for a relatively small percentage of California’s overall water use, as compared to the outsize volume used for agriculture. But state and federal officials also have reduced agricultural water allocations to zero in some places.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state has declared drought emergencies for 11 communities, where it is providing bottled or hauled water to more than 2,700 people. There are drought warnings for another 35 communities, which are receiving funding to cope with less water. Drought watches are in place for 2,018 communities that could be in danger of water shortages in the next year. The worst-hit areas are concentrated in the San Joaquin Valley and Russian River drainage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, about 4 million people in parts of Los Angeles County this week were \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-colorado-river-0552f9996008a992df99bf60dabbe35c\">banned from outdoor watering\u003c/a> for 15 days so that workers can repair a major pipeline that delivers Colorado River water to seven cities and four local water districts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Californians emerged from the driest January, February and March on record with the biggest jump in water use since the drought began: a nearly 19% increase in March compared to two years earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the urgent pleas of water officials, California’s water use in March is the highest since 2015, standing in stark contrast to February, when residents and businesses used virtually the same amount of water in cities and towns as two years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The massive increase shrank conservation gains made since last summer, according to data released today by the State Water Resources Control Board: During the period from last July through March, Californians used 3.7% less water than during the same stretch in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest data is a rebuke of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request last July that Californians voluntarily cut back their water use by 15%. At the end of March, he ordered water systems to step up their drought responses statewide, but left the details to the locals.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/tt3A5/2/\" width=\"800\" height=\"700\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\nThe largest increases, nearly 27%, came in the Los Angeles basin and San Diego County, as well as the desert regions of southeast California that include Palm Springs and the Imperial Valley. Residents and businesses in southern Sierra Nevada communities used about 23% more water than in 2020, and the Central Coast followed close behind with a 20% rise. The only savings came in the North Coast region, which used 4.3% less water. Even the San Francisco Bay Area had a 2.5% increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the data reflects water used by residents and industries statewide, it does not include agriculture, which accounts for roughly 40% of the total water used in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The record dry spell came during what should have been some of the wettest months of the year, so residents resorted to more watering of their lawns and gardens, which soak up about half of the water used in cities and towns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning next month, about 6 million Southern Californians who are reliant on the state’s parched aqueduct and reservoirs will face unprecedented water restrictions from the Metropolitan Water District. The agencies and cities that provide their water must limit residents to outdoor watering once a week or reduce total water use below a certain target under a mandate issued by the Metropolitan Water District last month.[aside label='California Drought' tag='drought']In response, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power today announced that all of its nearly 4 million customers will be limited to watering twice a week beginning June 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By March, some residents already faced aggressive drought rules from their water suppliers — with mixed results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After San José residents failed to meet voluntary conservation targets, those who exceed mandatory limits now face surcharges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which serves wealthy enclaves west of Los Angeles, found that water use steadily increased despite restrictions, with about half of residents regularly exceeding their water budgets, said spokesperson Michael McNutt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of May, the state water board will consider rules to ban irrigation of nonfunctional, decorative turf at businesses and other institutions. It will also vote on regulations implementing Newsom’s executive order requiring water systems to escalate their drought responses. Nearly 230 water systems have yet to reach the level of drought response the governor ordered, according to state data released today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Californians emerged from the driest January, February and March on record with the biggest jump in water use since the drought began: a nearly 19% increase in March compared to two years earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the urgent pleas of water officials, California’s water use in March is the highest since 2015, standing in stark contrast to February, when residents and businesses used virtually the same amount of water in cities and towns as two years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The massive increase shrank conservation gains made since last summer, according to data released today by the State Water Resources Control Board: During the period from last July through March, Californians used 3.7% less water than during the same stretch in 2020.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The latest data is a rebuke of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request last July that Californians voluntarily cut back their water use by 15%. At the end of March, he ordered water systems to step up their drought responses statewide, but left the details to the locals.\u003cbr>\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe src=\"https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/tt3A5/2/\" width=\"800\" height=\"700\" scrolling=\"yes\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\">\u003c/iframe>\u003cbr>\nThe largest increases, nearly 27%, came in the Los Angeles basin and San Diego County, as well as the desert regions of southeast California that include Palm Springs and the Imperial Valley. Residents and businesses in southern Sierra Nevada communities used about 23% more water than in 2020, and the Central Coast followed close behind with a 20% rise. The only savings came in the North Coast region, which used 4.3% less water. Even the San Francisco Bay Area had a 2.5% increase.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the data reflects water used by residents and industries statewide, it does not include agriculture, which accounts for roughly 40% of the total water used in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The record dry spell came during what should have been some of the wettest months of the year, so residents resorted to more watering of their lawns and gardens, which soak up about half of the water used in cities and towns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In response, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power today announced that all of its nearly 4 million customers will be limited to watering twice a week beginning June 1.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By March, some residents already faced aggressive drought rules from their water suppliers — with mixed results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After San José residents failed to meet voluntary conservation targets, those who exceed mandatory limits now face surcharges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Southern California, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, which serves wealthy enclaves west of Los Angeles, found that water use steadily increased despite restrictions, with about half of residents regularly exceeding their water budgets, said spokesperson Michael McNutt.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of May, the state water board will consider rules to ban irrigation of nonfunctional, decorative turf at businesses and other institutions. It will also vote on regulations implementing Newsom’s executive order requiring water systems to escalate their drought responses. Nearly 230 water systems have yet to reach the level of drought response the governor ordered, according to state data released today.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>The East Bay Municipal Utility District’s board on Tuesday approved a district-wide reduction in water use, citing an unusually dry winter and ongoing drought conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a 6-1 vote, the board declared a stage 2 drought emergency, aiming to cut total water use by 10% over 2020 rates. The measure, which takes effect immediately, also reinstates an excessive-use penalty and imposes new outdoor water-use restrictions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"california-drought\"]“Despite a strong rainy start in October and December, the dry winter has compelled us to move into our next phase of action to ensure we have adequate supplies in case the drought continues next year,” EBMUD Board President Douglas Linney said in a statement. Linney, who was the sole dissenting vote on the board, had pushed for an even higher water-reduction goal, of 15%. The board narrowly rejected that target, amid concerns over lost water sales, but said it would revisit upping the goal in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EBMUD’s seven reservoirs are currently 71% full and not expected to fully replenish when snow melts off the Sierra Nevada into the Mokelumne River Watershed, the agency said, referring to the primary source of drinking water for its roughly 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The excessive-use penalty will only be charged to households that use more than 1,646 gallons per day, and the board said it will affect fewer than 2% of its customers. After one warning, households will be charged $2 for every 748 gallons they use above the penalty threshold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, outdoor watering is now limited to three times per week, while hosing down sidewalks and driveways is prohibited. Cafes and restaurants now can only provide drinking water upon request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is implementing the new conservation order a year after it asked customers to voluntarily conserve water. The mandate falls in line with \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/03/newsom-imposes-new-california-water-restrictions-leaves-details-to-locals/\">an executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> last month requiring water agencies across the state to move to stage 2 — out of six stages — of their independent drought plans. That order was imposed after the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908387/amid-ongoing-drought-californians-are-actually-using-more-water-are-mandatory-cutbacks-in-the-pipeline\">fell far short\u003c/a> of a 15% voluntary reduction in water use, as Newsom had asked for last July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11912460\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 596px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11912460 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1.jpg\" alt=\"A map of the East Bay and its reservoirs.\" width=\"596\" height=\"583\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1.jpg 596w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1-160x157.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The East Bay Municipal Utility District’s service area. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of EBMUD)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The board also said it will vote next month on imposing a new drought surcharge of about $0.10 a day on each customer’s bill to cover the costs of buying supplemental water supplies and other drought-related expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EMBUD’s move comes as California’s severe drought stretches into a third hot, dry summer, with reservoirs shrinking across the state and the Sierra snowpack — the source of almost a third of the state’s water supply — \u003ca href=\"https://cdec.water.ca.gov/snowapp/sweq.action\">at roughly 35% of its historical average\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the gargantuan Metropolitan Water District of Southern California also took the unprecedented step of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-water-shortages-california-colorado-river-71b47b27bcbf73658b10bf131817d6ec\">requiring about 6 million of its customers\u003c/a> in mostly urban areas of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties to reduce outdoor watering to just one day a week. Declaring a water shortage emergency, the board is requiring some of the cities and agencies it supplies with water to enforce the cutback starting June 1, or face hefty fines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have enough water supplies right now to meet normal demand. The water is not there,” district spokesperson Rebecca Kimitch said. “This is unprecedented territory. We’ve never done anything like this before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from Bay City News and The Associated Press.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Despite a strong rainy start in October and December, the dry winter has compelled us to move into our next phase of action to ensure we have adequate supplies in case the drought continues next year,” EBMUD Board President Douglas Linney said in a statement. Linney, who was the sole dissenting vote on the board, had pushed for an even higher water-reduction goal, of 15%. The board narrowly rejected that target, amid concerns over lost water sales, but said it would revisit upping the goal in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EBMUD’s seven reservoirs are currently 71% full and not expected to fully replenish when snow melts off the Sierra Nevada into the Mokelumne River Watershed, the agency said, referring to the primary source of drinking water for its roughly 1.4 million customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The excessive-use penalty will only be charged to households that use more than 1,646 gallons per day, and the board said it will affect fewer than 2% of its customers. After one warning, households will be charged $2 for every 748 gallons they use above the penalty threshold.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, outdoor watering is now limited to three times per week, while hosing down sidewalks and driveways is prohibited. Cafes and restaurants now can only provide drinking water upon request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agency is implementing the new conservation order a year after it asked customers to voluntarily conserve water. The mandate falls in line with \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/2022/03/newsom-imposes-new-california-water-restrictions-leaves-details-to-locals/\">an executive order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom\u003c/a> last month requiring water agencies across the state to move to stage 2 — out of six stages — of their independent drought plans. That order was imposed after the state \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11908387/amid-ongoing-drought-californians-are-actually-using-more-water-are-mandatory-cutbacks-in-the-pipeline\">fell far short\u003c/a> of a 15% voluntary reduction in water use, as Newsom had asked for last July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11912460\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 596px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11912460 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1.jpg\" alt=\"A map of the East Bay and its reservoirs.\" width=\"596\" height=\"583\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1.jpg 596w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/04/East-Bay-MUD-service-area-1-160x157.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 596px) 100vw, 596px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The East Bay Municipal Utility District’s service area. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of EBMUD)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The board also said it will vote next month on imposing a new drought surcharge of about $0.10 a day on each customer’s bill to cover the costs of buying supplemental water supplies and other drought-related expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EMBUD’s move comes as California’s severe drought stretches into a third hot, dry summer, with reservoirs shrinking across the state and the Sierra snowpack — the source of almost a third of the state’s water supply — \u003ca href=\"https://cdec.water.ca.gov/snowapp/sweq.action\">at roughly 35% of its historical average\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Tuesday, the gargantuan Metropolitan Water District of Southern California also took the unprecedented step of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/business-environment-water-shortages-california-colorado-river-71b47b27bcbf73658b10bf131817d6ec\">requiring about 6 million of its customers\u003c/a> in mostly urban areas of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties to reduce outdoor watering to just one day a week. Declaring a water shortage emergency, the board is requiring some of the cities and agencies it supplies with water to enforce the cutback starting June 1, or face hefty fines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We don’t have enough water supplies right now to meet normal demand. The water is not there,” district spokesperson Rebecca Kimitch said. “This is unprecedented territory. We’ve never done anything like this before.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes reporting from Bay City News and The Associated Press.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11903742\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final.png\" alt='Cartoon: a melting snowperson slumps on a patch of snow while holding a sign that says, \"pray for snow.\" A coal eye and carrot nose are on the ground next to the snowperson.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-800x583.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-1020x743.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-160x117.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-1536x1119.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a record-dry January, \u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/fioresnowpackdrought\">it’s not looking good for the Sierra snowpack\u003c/a> that millions of Californians rely on for water.\u003ca id=\"LPlnk789718\" class=\"OWAAutoLink\" href=\"https://bit.ly/fioresnowpackdrought\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a state known for extremes, weather whiplash has sent us from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11900284/major-storm-dumps-snow-closes-northern-california-mountain-routes\">record-breaking December of heavy precipitation\u003c/a> to a bone-dry January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was just last month that we left extreme drought behind … and now we’re headed back to where we started all over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Happy Groundhog Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11903742\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final.png\" alt='Cartoon: a melting snowperson slumps on a patch of snow while holding a sign that says, \"pray for snow.\" A coal eye and carrot nose are on the ground next to the snowperson.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1399\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-800x583.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-1020x743.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-160x117.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/02/pray_020222_final-1536x1119.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After a record-dry January, \u003ca href=\"https://bit.ly/fioresnowpackdrought\">it’s not looking good for the Sierra snowpack\u003c/a> that millions of Californians rely on for water.\u003ca id=\"LPlnk789718\" class=\"OWAAutoLink\" href=\"https://bit.ly/fioresnowpackdrought\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a state known for extremes, weather whiplash has sent us from a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11900284/major-storm-dumps-snow-closes-northern-california-mountain-routes\">record-breaking December of heavy precipitation\u003c/a> to a bone-dry January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was just last month that we left extreme drought behind … and now we’re headed back to where we started all over again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Happy Groundhog Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "‘A Big Drop in the Bucket’: After Drenching Northern California, Massive Storm Heads South",
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"content": "\u003cp>A massive storm barreled toward Southern California on Monday after flooding highways, toppling trees, cutting power to about 380,000 utility customers and causing rockslides and mudflows in areas burned bare by wildfires across the northern half of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drenching rains and strong winds accompanied the weekend arrival of an atmospheric river — a long plume of Pacific moisture — into the drought-stricken state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rainfall records were shattered and heavy snow pounded high elevations of the Sierra Nevada. The National Weather Service issued numerous flash flood warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893625 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348793761-scaled-e1635196592525.jpg\" alt=\"A man wades through water higher than his knees next to two parked cars past their bumpers in water, on a tree-lined street, beyond blurred yellow police tape in the foreground.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1274\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pedestrian walks on a flooded street on Oct. 24, 2021, in Kentfield, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There were widespread power outages in Northern California, with Pacific Gas & Electric reporting Sunday evening that about 130,000 customers did not have electricity, though the utility said power had been restored to about 250,000 customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s most interesting about the storm is that we typically tend to get stronger storms into the winter,” said Sean Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “This early in the season is anomalous and the moisture was like a firehose in our area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller advised Bay Area residents traveling today in the wake of the massive storm to be cautious and take proactive measures to clean out storm drains and gutters. “Trees have been weakened by wind and water,” he said. “Behind the system, the surf is really high and strong. There will be some big waves for the next few days, and it will take time for the swells to go down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flooding was reported across the San Francisco Bay Area, closing streets in Berkeley, inundating Oakland’s Bay Bridge toll plaza and overflowing rivers in Napa and Sonoma counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893606\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893606 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348762275-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A gray four-door car sits alongside a power line, with a house and trees in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A car sits stranded on a flooded street on Oct. 24, 2021, in San Rafael, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sacramento received 5.4 inches of rain, smashing the all-time one-day rainfall record dating back to 1880, the weather service said. Interstate 80, the major highway through the Sierra to Reno, Nevada, was shut down by heavy snow early Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same storm system also slammed Oregon and Washington, causing power outages that affected tens of thousands of people. Two people were killed when a tree fell on a vehicle in the greater Seattle area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s Colusa and Yolo counties, state highways 16 and 20 were shut for several miles because of mudslides, the state Department of Transportation said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893624\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893624 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348791095-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two people wearing helmets and rain gear use a hand-operated machine attached to the back of a truck (?) while a kid plays in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers cut up a tree that fell across a road on Oct. 24, 2021, in Ross, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>South of San Francisco, evacuation orders were in effect in the Santa Cruz Mountains over concerns that several inches of rain could trigger debris flows in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scar when the storm moved through early Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further south, evacuation warnings for parts of western Santa Barbara County were upgraded to evacuation orders in the area burned by this month’s Alisal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893626 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348806842-800x542.jpg\" alt=\"Six figures in green-yellow reflective rain gear. Two hold hands on the edge of a built berm as four feet of water gush past them onto the sidewalk below, where a third person, backed to the edge of the sidewalk, bends at the knees, holding something in both hands.\" width=\"800\" height=\"542\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers try to divert water into drains as rain pours down on Oct. 24, 2021, in Marin City, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Officials said mountain areas above 9,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada could get 18 inches of snow or more from Sunday until Monday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent storms have helped contain some of the nation’s largest wildfires this year. But it remains to be seen whether the wet weather will make a dent in the drought that’s plaguing California and the western United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a big drop in the bucket, but at the same time, it’s a big bucket,” said Alison Bridger, chair of the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science at San José State University. “We’re talking about the whole West being dry, and only a part of the West got hit by this storm, certainly in the Northern California foothills and higher areas that drain down into our reservoirs. This is going to help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s climate is hotter and drier now, and that means the rain and snow that does fall is more likely to evaporate and less likely to absorb into the soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s 2021 water year, which ended Sept. 30, was the second-driest on record and last year’s was the fifth-driest on record. Some of the state’s most important reservoirs are at record low levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you are in the vicinity of a recent burn scar and haven’t already, prepare now for likely debris flows,” the Sacramento weather service tweeted. “If you are told to evacuate by local officials, or you feel threatened, do not hesitate to do so. If it is too late to evacuate, get to higher ground.”[aside label=\"related coverage\" tag=\"atmospheric-river\"]South of San Francisco, evacuation orders were in effect in the Santa Cruz Mountains over concerns that several inches of rain could trigger debris flows in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scar when the storm moves through early Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen a lot of drought and wildfires in recent years, but we kind of forget about the fact we’ve also seen some conspicuously extreme weather events as well in that same period,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and The Nature Conservancy. “This is somewhat characteristic of what we expect to see in California’s warming climate, where the overall amount of precipitation may not change tremendously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes additional reporting from KQED’s Spencer Whitney and Natalia Navarro, as well as The Associated Press.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A massive storm barreled toward Southern California on Monday after flooding highways, toppling trees, cutting power to about 380,000 utility customers and causing rockslides and mudflows in areas burned bare by wildfires across the northern half of the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Drenching rains and strong winds accompanied the weekend arrival of an atmospheric river — a long plume of Pacific moisture — into the drought-stricken state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rainfall records were shattered and heavy snow pounded high elevations of the Sierra Nevada. The National Weather Service issued numerous flash flood warnings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893625\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893625 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348793761-scaled-e1635196592525.jpg\" alt=\"A man wades through water higher than his knees next to two parked cars past their bumpers in water, on a tree-lined street, beyond blurred yellow police tape in the foreground.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1274\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A pedestrian walks on a flooded street on Oct. 24, 2021, in Kentfield, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There were widespread power outages in Northern California, with Pacific Gas & Electric reporting Sunday evening that about 130,000 customers did not have electricity, though the utility said power had been restored to about 250,000 customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What’s most interesting about the storm is that we typically tend to get stronger storms into the winter,” said Sean Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “This early in the season is anomalous and the moisture was like a firehose in our area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Miller advised Bay Area residents traveling today in the wake of the massive storm to be cautious and take proactive measures to clean out storm drains and gutters. “Trees have been weakened by wind and water,” he said. “Behind the system, the surf is really high and strong. There will be some big waves for the next few days, and it will take time for the swells to go down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Flooding was reported across the San Francisco Bay Area, closing streets in Berkeley, inundating Oakland’s Bay Bridge toll plaza and overflowing rivers in Napa and Sonoma counties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893606\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893606 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348762275-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"A gray four-door car sits alongside a power line, with a house and trees in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A car sits stranded on a flooded street on Oct. 24, 2021, in San Rafael, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Sacramento received 5.4 inches of rain, smashing the all-time one-day rainfall record dating back to 1880, the weather service said. Interstate 80, the major highway through the Sierra to Reno, Nevada, was shut down by heavy snow early Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The same storm system also slammed Oregon and Washington, causing power outages that affected tens of thousands of people. Two people were killed when a tree fell on a vehicle in the greater Seattle area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California’s Colusa and Yolo counties, state highways 16 and 20 were shut for several miles because of mudslides, the state Department of Transportation said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893624\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893624 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348791095-800x533.jpg\" alt=\"Two people wearing helmets and rain gear use a hand-operated machine attached to the back of a truck (?) while a kid plays in the background.\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers cut up a tree that fell across a road on Oct. 24, 2021, in Ross, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>South of San Francisco, evacuation orders were in effect in the Santa Cruz Mountains over concerns that several inches of rain could trigger debris flows in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scar when the storm moved through early Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Further south, evacuation warnings for parts of western Santa Barbara County were upgraded to evacuation orders in the area burned by this month’s Alisal Fire.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11893626\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11893626 size-medium\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/GettyImages-1348806842-800x542.jpg\" alt=\"Six figures in green-yellow reflective rain gear. Two hold hands on the edge of a built berm as four feet of water gush past them onto the sidewalk below, where a third person, backed to the edge of the sidewalk, bends at the knees, holding something in both hands.\" width=\"800\" height=\"542\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Workers try to divert water into drains as rain pours down on Oct. 24, 2021, in Marin City, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Officials said mountain areas above 9,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada could get 18 inches of snow or more from Sunday until Monday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent storms have helped contain some of the nation’s largest wildfires this year. But it remains to be seen whether the wet weather will make a dent in the drought that’s plaguing California and the western United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This was a big drop in the bucket, but at the same time, it’s a big bucket,” said Alison Bridger, chair of the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science at San José State University. “We’re talking about the whole West being dry, and only a part of the West got hit by this storm, certainly in the Northern California foothills and higher areas that drain down into our reservoirs. This is going to help.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s climate is hotter and drier now, and that means the rain and snow that does fall is more likely to evaporate and less likely to absorb into the soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s 2021 water year, which ended Sept. 30, was the second-driest on record and last year’s was the fifth-driest on record. 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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>South of San Francisco, evacuation orders were in effect in the Santa Cruz Mountains over concerns that several inches of rain could trigger debris flows in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire burn scar when the storm moves through early Monday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen a lot of drought and wildfires in recent years, but we kind of forget about the fact we’ve also seen some conspicuously extreme weather events as well in that same period,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and The Nature Conservancy. “This is somewhat characteristic of what we expect to see in California’s warming climate, where the overall amount of precipitation may not change tremendously.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This post includes additional reporting from KQED’s Spencer Whitney and Natalia Navarro, as well as The Associated Press.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In a new push to stop further depletion of California’s shrinking aquifers, state regulators are turning to technology once used to count Soviet missile silos during the Cold War: satellites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Joel Kimmelshue, co-founder of Land IQ\"]‘The days of agricultural anonymity are over.’[/pullquote]Historically, California’s farmers could pump as much as they wanted from their wells. But as a consequence of that unrestricted use, the underground water table has sunk by hundreds of feet in some areas, and the state is now trying to stabilize those aquifers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators need to calculate just how much water each farmer is using across California’s vast agricultural lands, and scientists and private companies are now offering a technique that uses images from orbiting satellites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The days of agricultural anonymity are over,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.landiq.com/joel-kimmelshue\">Joel Kimmelshue\u003c/a>, co-founder of the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.landiq.com/\">Land IQ\u003c/a>, which is helping to hone the technique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water surveillance got a big boost when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891246/california-farmers-are-storing-water-in-underground-aquifers-that-function-like-savings-accounts\">California passed a law in 2014 that aims to protect the state’s aquifers\u003c/a>. It places limits on the amount of water that farmers are allowed to pump.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003cbr>\nThere was a big problem: Local officials like Eric Limas weren’t sure how to enforce limits on water use. Limas is general manager of the Lower Tule River and Pixley irrigation districts, in Tulare County, where aquifers are among the most depleted in the entire state. He’s also in charge of a newly established groundwater sustainability agency for that area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was one of the first conversations that our groundwater committee tackled,” Limas says. “‘OK, how are we going to do that? Are we going to measure every molecule that’s pumped?'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11891401\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer1-1020x679.jpg\"]Limas doesn’t even know exactly how many wells there are in his part of the county. Thousands of them are hidden away in the middle of cornfields and almond orchards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many farmers weren’t inclined to help him out, especially in the first years after the law was passed. Limas recalls the initial reaction: “At first it’s like, ‘You’re crazy if you think you’re going to come on my place and … figure out how much I’m pumping. That’s my water.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then Limas heard that researchers at California Polytechnic State University had developed \u003ca href=\"http://www.itrc.org/projects/metric.htm\">a way to estimate the amount of water used by agricultural crops from images recorded by NASA-operated satellites\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Land IQ, meanwhile, was using that same technique — supplemented with stations on the ground — to collect data on field-by-field water use. It sounded like “Star Wars stuff,” Limas recalls. But it also sounded easier and cheaper than getting water meters installed on every well in his district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The technique involves several steps. The first is figuring out which crops are growing on each field. The satellite images, which are updated almost every week, contain clues: the shade of green, the spacing of vegetation, the time of year the field turns green.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Combining these clues, Kimmelshue says, produces a fingerprint of each crop. “We have a fingerprint for walnuts and a fingerprint for alfalfa, tomatoes and all these different crops,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11892959\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1342px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11892959 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite.jpg\" alt=\"Two maps side-by-side created by LandIQ. Both use a multi-color, grid system to describe different factors present in a small patch of land in the Central Valley: what crops are grown and how much water is being consumed.\" width=\"1342\" height=\"870\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite.jpg 1342w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite-800x519.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite-1020x661.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1342px) 100vw, 1342px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Land IQ uses data from a NASA satellite to determine which crops are growing on each field. The map on the left shows one small part of California’s Central Valley. The darkest green areas are almond groves. The map on the right shows “evapotranspiration” (water used by crops or evaporated from soil) in the region during June 2020. Some fields (shown in dark blue) consumed 8 inches of water. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of LandIQ)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>About 4% of the time, Kimmelshue says, there’s a case of mistaken identity. “We might confuse almonds for peaches,” he says. “But a peach tree and an almond tree have similar water needs” so the estimate of water use still ends up being quite accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each crop, at a particular point in its life cycle, takes up a predictable amount of water and releases it through its leaves, depending on local weather conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Land IQ has set up local monitoring stations to keep track of things like wind speed, heat and humidity, at hundreds of locations. Putting it all together, the company calculates the amount of “evapotranspiration” — the amount of water that the plants are releasing to the air, as well as what’s evaporating from the soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"science_1976952\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/09/Grapes-1920x1440.jpg\"]That’s different from the amount that farmers are pumping because some irrigation water that’s pumped from the aquifer sinks back into the earth. Because of this, Kimmelshue has convinced officials like Limas that it’s more important to regulate water consumption, in the form of evapotranspiration, rather than water pumping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s now selling that data to more than a dozen groundwater regulatory agencies, including the ones that Eric Limas manages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Limas and his colleagues can monitor how much water is consumed by every farmer, field by field, and show farmers how that compares with their legal allotment under the new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of guys are going in and looking at their water budgets and saying, ‘Oh, yeah, we don’t have enough water to plant that summer crop,'” Limas says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s how the process is supposed to work. Farming practices are supposed to change to conserve aquifer water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='More Climate Coverage' tag='climate']Some officials worry that it won’t go so smoothly when limits on groundwater use get tighter over the next two decades, while others are predicting court battles over whether the satellite-based technique is accurate. Some farmers say that regulators ultimately may shift to using data from water meters that are installed on every well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, though, the technique is growing more popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later this week, a coalition of scientists, NASA and environmental groups like the Environmental Defense Fund plans to launch a new version of space-based water monitoring. This one is called OpenET (“ET” refers to evapotranspiration). It will estimate water use in agricultural areas across much of the western United States, and make it available on the web for anyone to see.\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Historically, California’s farmers could pump as much as they wanted from their wells. But as a consequence of that unrestricted use, the underground water table has sunk by hundreds of feet in some areas, and the state is now trying to stabilize those aquifers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulators need to calculate just how much water each farmer is using across California’s vast agricultural lands, and scientists and private companies are now offering a technique that uses images from orbiting satellites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The days of agricultural anonymity are over,” says \u003ca href=\"https://www.landiq.com/joel-kimmelshue\">Joel Kimmelshue\u003c/a>, co-founder of the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.landiq.com/\">Land IQ\u003c/a>, which is helping to hone the technique.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Water surveillance got a big boost when \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11891246/california-farmers-are-storing-water-in-underground-aquifers-that-function-like-savings-accounts\">California passed a law in 2014 that aims to protect the state’s aquifers\u003c/a>. It places limits on the amount of water that farmers are allowed to pump.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\nThere was a big problem: Local officials like Eric Limas weren’t sure how to enforce limits on water use. Limas is general manager of the Lower Tule River and Pixley irrigation districts, in Tulare County, where aquifers are among the most depleted in the entire state. He’s also in charge of a newly established groundwater sustainability agency for that area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That was one of the first conversations that our groundwater committee tackled,” Limas says. “‘OK, how are we going to do that? Are we going to measure every molecule that’s pumped?'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Limas doesn’t even know exactly how many wells there are in his part of the county. Thousands of them are hidden away in the middle of cornfields and almond orchards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many farmers weren’t inclined to help him out, especially in the first years after the law was passed. Limas recalls the initial reaction: “At first it’s like, ‘You’re crazy if you think you’re going to come on my place and … figure out how much I’m pumping. That’s my water.'”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then Limas heard that researchers at California Polytechnic State University had developed \u003ca href=\"http://www.itrc.org/projects/metric.htm\">a way to estimate the amount of water used by agricultural crops from images recorded by NASA-operated satellites\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Land IQ, meanwhile, was using that same technique — supplemented with stations on the ground — to collect data on field-by-field water use. It sounded like “Star Wars stuff,” Limas recalls. But it also sounded easier and cheaper than getting water meters installed on every well in his district.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The technique involves several steps. The first is figuring out which crops are growing on each field. The satellite images, which are updated almost every week, contain clues: the shade of green, the spacing of vegetation, the time of year the field turns green.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Combining these clues, Kimmelshue says, produces a fingerprint of each crop. “We have a fingerprint for walnuts and a fingerprint for alfalfa, tomatoes and all these different crops,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11892959\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1342px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11892959 size-full\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite.jpg\" alt=\"Two maps side-by-side created by LandIQ. Both use a multi-color, grid system to describe different factors present in a small patch of land in the Central Valley: what crops are grown and how much water is being consumed.\" width=\"1342\" height=\"870\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite.jpg 1342w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite-800x519.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite-1020x661.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/alfa-maps-satellite-160x104.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1342px) 100vw, 1342px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Land IQ uses data from a NASA satellite to determine which crops are growing on each field. The map on the left shows one small part of California’s Central Valley. The darkest green areas are almond groves. The map on the right shows “evapotranspiration” (water used by crops or evaporated from soil) in the region during June 2020. Some fields (shown in dark blue) consumed 8 inches of water. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of LandIQ)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>About 4% of the time, Kimmelshue says, there’s a case of mistaken identity. “We might confuse almonds for peaches,” he says. “But a peach tree and an almond tree have similar water needs” so the estimate of water use still ends up being quite accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Each crop, at a particular point in its life cycle, takes up a predictable amount of water and releases it through its leaves, depending on local weather conditions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Land IQ has set up local monitoring stations to keep track of things like wind speed, heat and humidity, at hundreds of locations. Putting it all together, the company calculates the amount of “evapotranspiration” — the amount of water that the plants are releasing to the air, as well as what’s evaporating from the soil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>That’s different from the amount that farmers are pumping because some irrigation water that’s pumped from the aquifer sinks back into the earth. Because of this, Kimmelshue has convinced officials like Limas that it’s more important to regulate water consumption, in the form of evapotranspiration, rather than water pumping.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He’s now selling that data to more than a dozen groundwater regulatory agencies, including the ones that Eric Limas manages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Limas and his colleagues can monitor how much water is consumed by every farmer, field by field, and show farmers how that compares with their legal allotment under the new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“A lot of guys are going in and looking at their water budgets and saying, ‘Oh, yeah, we don’t have enough water to plant that summer crop,'” Limas says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s how the process is supposed to work. Farming practices are supposed to change to conserve aquifer water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Some officials worry that it won’t go so smoothly when limits on groundwater use get tighter over the next two decades, while others are predicting court battles over whether the satellite-based technique is accurate. Some farmers say that regulators ultimately may shift to using data from water meters that are installed on every well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, though, the technique is growing more popular.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later this week, a coalition of scientists, NASA and environmental groups like the Environmental Defense Fund plans to launch a new version of space-based water monitoring. This one is called OpenET (“ET” refers to evapotranspiration). It will estimate water use in agricultural areas across much of the western United States, and make it available on the web for anyone to see.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "a-california-law-meant-to-reduce-the-exploitation-of-aquifers-could-transform-the-central-valley",
"title": "A California Law Meant to Reduce the Exploitation of Aquifers Could Transform the Central Valley",
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"content": "\u003cp>California’s agricultural empire is facing a shakeup, as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) comes into effect that will limit many farmers’ access to water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seven-year-old law is supposed to stop the over-pumping from depleted aquifers, and some farmers — the largest users of that water — concede the limits are overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"news_11891246\" hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/farmer1-1020x681.jpg\"]The state grows roughly 40% of the country’s vegetables, fruit and nuts. But it’s also famously prone to drought, and in those dry years, when farms run short of water from rivers and reservoirs, they turn on powerful pumps and draw well water from aquifers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The limits on that water use will force many farmers to scrap practices that relied on unfettered access to that shrinking underground reservoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s unsustainable to continue over-drafting the aquifer the way we are,” said Rick Cosyns, a farmer near the town of Madera, just north of Fresno. “It’s just a race to the bottom.” Cosyns, who was interviewed in August, died unexpectedly on September 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s drought hit hard and fast. With rivers running low, there’s little “surface water” available for agriculture. As a result, farmers’ pumps ran hard this summer. Big pipes that emerge from the ground alongside fields and orchards delivered powerful gushers of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891503\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1448px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891503\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3.jpg\" alt=\"Rick Cosyns stands next to his farm's well, a large metal container with water flowing inside.\" width=\"1448\" height=\"971\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3.jpg 1448w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3-1020x684.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1448px) 100vw, 1448px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rick Cosyns, a farmer in Madera, relied on water from the aquifer in years of drought. In other years he could replenish the aquifer with water from the San Joaquin River. “It’s unsustainable to continue over-drafting the aquifer the way we are,” he said in August before he passed away the following month. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>State-wide, farmers to pumped an estimated six to seven million additional acre-feet of water this year, above what they normally use. (An acre-foot of water is 325,851 gallons.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It kept fields and orchards green and productive, but there’s collateral damage. Those deep agricultural wells suck the water out from underneath smaller domestic wells, like the one at Esther Espinoza’s house outside the small town of Riverdale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see how the big pumps are pumping water, and we don’t have water. It’s something so sad for me,” Espinoza said. “We have water for nothing. For the bathroom, or the kitchen. It’s something which is so necessary, [that] we don’t have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"Esther Espinoza, Resident of Fresno County\"]‘I see how the big pumps are pumping water, and we don’t have water.’[/pullquote]She and her family now depend on water from a big black tank in their front yard, which a local non-profit fills up each week. Hundreds, and probably thousands, of households are in this situation, most of them in the southern part of the Central Valley, where aquifers are most depleted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 100 years in California, anyone could dig a well on their land and pump as much as they wanted. Farmers got most of it. They pumped so much water that the underground water table fell by more than 100 feet in some places. The ground itself subsided as water was pumped out from underneath it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that’s supposed to end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SGMA passed in 2014 but is just now going into effect and it treats the aquifer like a bank account that has to stay in balance. There can be withdrawals of water, but they cannot exceed the rate at which the aquifer is replenished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote size='large' align='right']For 100 years in California, anyone could dig a well on their land and pump as much as they wanted. Farmers got most of it.[/pullquote]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new restrictions are creating winners and losers among farmers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosyns’s farm, near Madera, is among the fortunate ones. It has another source of water. It’s part of an irrigation district set up a century ago to distribute water from nearby rivers to farmers. Most of that water, today, is captured by a dam on the San Joaquin River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A deep irrigation ditch runs alongside the almond orchard. It’s empty this year because of the drought. “I’d sure feel better if this was full of water, and most years it is,” Cosysns said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891508\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1297px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891508\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2.jpg\" alt=\"Dozens of cows are gathered inside a closed space. Nearby is a metal well with many tubes sticking out.\" width=\"1297\" height=\"968\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2.jpg 1297w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2-800x597.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2-1020x761.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2-160x119.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1297px) 100vw, 1297px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In a farming area east of Tulare County, fields of corn and dairy herds depend on water from wells like this one. The state is now limiting the use of this groundwater. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most years, when there’s enough rain and snow, he could use that water to irrigate orchards and let some of the water just sink back into the ground. Eventually that water can filter all the way back down to the aquifer, hundreds of feet below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a way to keep that aquifer bank account roughly in balance, making water deposits when there’s plenty of water from the river, and pumping water out again when there’s a drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet even here, the water table in the aquifer has been falling. The reason, Cosyns said, lay elsewhere. “The surrounding areas are pumping the water out from under us,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those farmers own land that’s outside the irrigation district, and they don’t get water from the dam on the San Joaquin River. They pump from the aquifer every year, making withdrawals but no deposits. Under the new law, that will have to end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosyns had only limited sympathy. “We’ve made the investments” in securing additional water supplies, he said, “and others are getting into our bank accounts that we saved for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmers who rely solely on groundwater may think it’s their right to do that indefinitely, “but we’ve come to that day of reckoning, when that’s no longer going to be the case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[pullquote align=\"right\" size=\"medium\" citation=\"David Roberts, Farmer in Tulare County\"]‘We’re going to turn the water crisis into a food crisis, because we cannot replicate the San Joaquin Valley anywhere else in the United States.’[/pullquote]This is the main division in California agriculture as the groundwater law comes into force. On the one side are farmers in irrigation districts with secure access to water from California’s rivers and reservoirs; on the other, farmers who’ve relied almost completely on their wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the aquifer-dependent farmers will have to cut their pumping drastically, and that likely means they’ll have to idle some of their land. According to some estimates, anywhere from half a million to a million acres will cease growing agricultural crops in the San Joaquin Valley, from Sacramento and Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This does not sit well with some farmers, such as David Roberts, who grows citrus crops in Tulare County. “We’re going to turn the water crisis into a food crisis, because we cannot replicate the San Joaquin Valley anywhere else in the United States,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No other place, he says, has the climate to grow more than 400 different crops. And when consumers realize what they’re missing, he expects a backlash. “This ground will come back into production one way or another,” he explained. “The United States cannot be without the San Joaquin Valley producing fruit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891504\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891504\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Charles stands in front of a field and points at it, with a concerned look on his face.\" width=\"1452\" height=\"967\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4.jpg 1452w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Roberts grows citrus crops on the eastern side of the Central Valley, near Woodlake, in Tulare County. Some of his orchards depend entirely on water that he pumps from the aquifer and he’s worried that the SGMA will hinder his farm’s capacity to grow. “We’re going to turn the water crisis into a food crisis,” he said. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Roberts agrees that overuse of the aquifer has to end. But he wants the government to step in to deliver more water from rivers and dams to make up for the lost groundwater, to keep more land in production and also replenish the aquifer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=\"science_1976952 hero=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/35/2021/09/Grapes-1920x1440.jpg\"]Other water experts say that’s a pipe dream, and unnecessary. Some crops currently grown in the Central Valley, including almost half a million acres of corn used to feed dairy cattle, can easily be grown elsewhere. California’s dairy industry is likely to contract because cattle feed will become increasingly scarce, they say, but consumers will barely notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, some farmers think the future looks bright. “I actually think it’s going to be a better future than the past has been,” said Jon Reiter, a rancher and adviser to large-scale farming operations in the valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People already are working on creative ways to adapt and prosper, he says. Farmers and water managers are building the infrastructure to capture more water in years when it rains, flood their fields, and replenish the aquifer. That will allow them to pump more groundwater in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some land still will have to stop growing crops, Reiter says, “but we’re going to take that land and put it to other uses.” There are profits to be made leasing land for solar production, for instance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891505\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1453px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891505\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5.jpg\" alt=\"A field of dozens of solar panels stand in the middle of a barren, dry landscape.\" width=\"1453\" height=\"973\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5.jpg 1453w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1453px) 100vw, 1453px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Solar farms, like this one in Tulare County, have replaced some vegetable fields and orchards in the Central Valley. “I see the San Joaquin Valley being really a solar hub, renewable energy hub for the whole of California,” said Jon Reiter, a rancher and adviser to large-scale farming operations in the valley. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I see the San Joaquin Valley being really a solar hub, renewable energy hub for the whole of California,” he said. “It could be a big part of our state achieving its renewable energy objectives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a new state program that will pay farmers to turn fallowed fields into habitat for birds, lizards, and native shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label ='More Drought Coverage' tag='drought']No one knows exactly what that Central Valley will look like when this all shakes out. Dozens of local committees are in charge of enforcing the new groundwater law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soapy Mulholland, a conservationist who’s on half a dozen of these committees, says they include a much larger range of viewpoints than previously had influence over groundwater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You’re considering disadvantaged communities, the farmers, you’re considering the environment, and all those players are at the table,” she said. “And that’s a good thing.”\u003cbr>\n[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, passed in California in 2014 to prevent farmers from overdrawing aquifers may be creating winners and losers among growers.",
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"title": "A California Law Meant to Reduce the Exploitation of Aquifers Could Transform the Central Valley | KQED",
"description": "The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, passed in California in 2014 to prevent farmers from overdrawing aquifers may be creating winners and losers among growers.",
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"nprByline": "\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/people/143160021/daniel-charles\">Dan Charles\u003c/a>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California’s agricultural empire is facing a shakeup, as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) comes into effect that will limit many farmers’ access to water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The seven-year-old law is supposed to stop the over-pumping from depleted aquifers, and some farmers — the largest users of that water — concede the limits are overdue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The state grows roughly 40% of the country’s vegetables, fruit and nuts. But it’s also famously prone to drought, and in those dry years, when farms run short of water from rivers and reservoirs, they turn on powerful pumps and draw well water from aquifers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The limits on that water use will force many farmers to scrap practices that relied on unfettered access to that shrinking underground reservoir.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s unsustainable to continue over-drafting the aquifer the way we are,” said Rick Cosyns, a farmer near the town of Madera, just north of Fresno. “It’s just a race to the bottom.” Cosyns, who was interviewed in August, died unexpectedly on September 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year’s drought hit hard and fast. With rivers running low, there’s little “surface water” available for agriculture. As a result, farmers’ pumps ran hard this summer. Big pipes that emerge from the ground alongside fields and orchards delivered powerful gushers of water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891503\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1448px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891503\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3.jpg\" alt=\"Rick Cosyns stands next to his farm's well, a large metal container with water flowing inside.\" width=\"1448\" height=\"971\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3.jpg 1448w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3-1020x684.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer3-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1448px) 100vw, 1448px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rick Cosyns, a farmer in Madera, relied on water from the aquifer in years of drought. In other years he could replenish the aquifer with water from the San Joaquin River. “It’s unsustainable to continue over-drafting the aquifer the way we are,” he said in August before he passed away the following month. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>State-wide, farmers to pumped an estimated six to seven million additional acre-feet of water this year, above what they normally use. (An acre-foot of water is 325,851 gallons.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It kept fields and orchards green and productive, but there’s collateral damage. Those deep agricultural wells suck the water out from underneath smaller domestic wells, like the one at Esther Espinoza’s house outside the small town of Riverdale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I see how the big pumps are pumping water, and we don’t have water. It’s something so sad for me,” Espinoza said. “We have water for nothing. For the bathroom, or the kitchen. It’s something which is so necessary, [that] we don’t have.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "‘I see how the big pumps are pumping water, and we don’t have water.’",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>She and her family now depend on water from a big black tank in their front yard, which a local non-profit fills up each week. Hundreds, and probably thousands, of households are in this situation, most of them in the southern part of the Central Valley, where aquifers are most depleted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For 100 years in California, anyone could dig a well on their land and pump as much as they wanted. Farmers got most of it. They pumped so much water that the underground water table fell by more than 100 feet in some places. The ground itself subsided as water was pumped out from underneath it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All that’s supposed to end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SGMA passed in 2014 but is just now going into effect and it treats the aquifer like a bank account that has to stay in balance. There can be withdrawals of water, but they cannot exceed the rate at which the aquifer is replenished.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new restrictions are creating winners and losers among farmers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosyns’s farm, near Madera, is among the fortunate ones. It has another source of water. It’s part of an irrigation district set up a century ago to distribute water from nearby rivers to farmers. Most of that water, today, is captured by a dam on the San Joaquin River.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A deep irrigation ditch runs alongside the almond orchard. It’s empty this year because of the drought. “I’d sure feel better if this was full of water, and most years it is,” Cosysns said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891508\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1297px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891508\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2.jpg\" alt=\"Dozens of cows are gathered inside a closed space. Nearby is a metal well with many tubes sticking out.\" width=\"1297\" height=\"968\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2.jpg 1297w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2-800x597.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2-1020x761.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer2-160x119.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1297px) 100vw, 1297px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">In a farming area east of Tulare County, fields of corn and dairy herds depend on water from wells like this one. The state is now limiting the use of this groundwater. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most years, when there’s enough rain and snow, he could use that water to irrigate orchards and let some of the water just sink back into the ground. Eventually that water can filter all the way back down to the aquifer, hundreds of feet below.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a way to keep that aquifer bank account roughly in balance, making water deposits when there’s plenty of water from the river, and pumping water out again when there’s a drought.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet even here, the water table in the aquifer has been falling. The reason, Cosyns said, lay elsewhere. “The surrounding areas are pumping the water out from under us,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those farmers own land that’s outside the irrigation district, and they don’t get water from the dam on the San Joaquin River. They pump from the aquifer every year, making withdrawals but no deposits. Under the new law, that will have to end.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cosyns had only limited sympathy. “We’ve made the investments” in securing additional water supplies, he said, “and others are getting into our bank accounts that we saved for.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Farmers who rely solely on groundwater may think it’s their right to do that indefinitely, “but we’ve come to that day of reckoning, when that’s no longer going to be the case.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>This is the main division in California agriculture as the groundwater law comes into force. On the one side are farmers in irrigation districts with secure access to water from California’s rivers and reservoirs; on the other, farmers who’ve relied almost completely on their wells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the aquifer-dependent farmers will have to cut their pumping drastically, and that likely means they’ll have to idle some of their land. According to some estimates, anywhere from half a million to a million acres will cease growing agricultural crops in the San Joaquin Valley, from Sacramento and Bakersfield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This does not sit well with some farmers, such as David Roberts, who grows citrus crops in Tulare County. “We’re going to turn the water crisis into a food crisis, because we cannot replicate the San Joaquin Valley anywhere else in the United States,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No other place, he says, has the climate to grow more than 400 different crops. And when consumers realize what they’re missing, he expects a backlash. “This ground will come back into production one way or another,” he explained. “The United States cannot be without the San Joaquin Valley producing fruit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891504\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1452px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891504\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4.jpg\" alt=\"Dan Charles stands in front of a field and points at it, with a concerned look on his face.\" width=\"1452\" height=\"967\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4.jpg 1452w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer4-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1452px) 100vw, 1452px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Roberts grows citrus crops on the eastern side of the Central Valley, near Woodlake, in Tulare County. Some of his orchards depend entirely on water that he pumps from the aquifer and he’s worried that the SGMA will hinder his farm’s capacity to grow. “We’re going to turn the water crisis into a food crisis,” he said. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Roberts agrees that overuse of the aquifer has to end. But he wants the government to step in to deliver more water from rivers and dams to make up for the lost groundwater, to keep more land in production and also replenish the aquifer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Other water experts say that’s a pipe dream, and unnecessary. Some crops currently grown in the Central Valley, including almost half a million acres of corn used to feed dairy cattle, can easily be grown elsewhere. California’s dairy industry is likely to contract because cattle feed will become increasingly scarce, they say, but consumers will barely notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, some farmers think the future looks bright. “I actually think it’s going to be a better future than the past has been,” said Jon Reiter, a rancher and adviser to large-scale farming operations in the valley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People already are working on creative ways to adapt and prosper, he says. Farmers and water managers are building the infrastructure to capture more water in years when it rains, flood their fields, and replenish the aquifer. That will allow them to pump more groundwater in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some land still will have to stop growing crops, Reiter says, “but we’re going to take that land and put it to other uses.” There are profits to be made leasing land for solar production, for instance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11891505\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1453px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11891505\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5.jpg\" alt=\"A field of dozens of solar panels stand in the middle of a barren, dry landscape.\" width=\"1453\" height=\"973\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5.jpg 1453w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5-800x536.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5-1020x683.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2021/10/aquifer5-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1453px) 100vw, 1453px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Solar farms, like this one in Tulare County, have replaced some vegetable fields and orchards in the Central Valley. “I see the San Joaquin Valley being really a solar hub, renewable energy hub for the whole of California,” said Jon Reiter, a rancher and adviser to large-scale farming operations in the valley. \u003ccite>(Dan Charles/NPR)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I see the San Joaquin Valley being really a solar hub, renewable energy hub for the whole of California,” he said. “It could be a big part of our state achieving its renewable energy objectives.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also a new state program that will pay farmers to turn fallowed fields into habitat for birds, lizards, and native shrubs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
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"possible": {
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"radiolab": {
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"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
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"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"order": 16
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
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"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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"snap-judgment": {
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