State water officials said Monday that the nation's most populous state should expect another dry year ahead.
Precipitation was 76% of average for the year that just ended, and the state's reservoirs are at 69% of their historical levels, state officials said.. The worst conditions are throughout the Central Valley, the state's agricultural heartland where many of the nation's fruits, vegetables and nuts are grown.
Another dry year would mean little to no water deliveries from state supplies to farmers and cities in central and Southern California. State and local officials, meanwhile, continue to urge California's 39 million residents to save water wherever possible by ripping out grass lawns or letting them go brown, taking shorter showers and generally being more conscious about water use.
There are signs that the state and its residents are better learning to deal with ongoing dry periods, said Jeff Mount, a senior fellow with the Water Policy Center at the Public Policy Institute of California. With limited water supplies, farmers in the northern part of the state have fallowed rice fields, while major water agencies in the south have started to look for ways to expand water supply through recycling and other means.
Still, drought fatigue may be setting in. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called on residents last year to voluntarily reduce their water use by 15%. The state still hasn't met that target and water use went up in the spring compared to prior years. But use has started to tick down after state water officials put new restrictions on outdoor watering.
“We’re not fighting anymore about whether things are changing — we’re having reasonable fights about how to adapt to it,” Mount said.Keep up with all the latest news, arts and culture, and TV highlights from KPBS.
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