Low snowpack, California braces for drought, faces “the end of agriculture”
January 30th, 2009A new California Department of Water Resources survey indicates snow water content is 61% of normal for the date, statewide. The results prompted Director Lester Snow to warn:
“We may be at the start of the worst California drought in modern history. It’s imperative for Californians to conserve water immediately at home and in their businesses.”
DWR’s early estimate is that it will only be able to deliver 15% of requested State Water Project water this year to the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, Central Coast and Southern California.
December through January tend to be the wettest months but thus far the Sierra has only received one third of its expected annual snowfall.
Elissa Lynn, a meteorologist with the state, said the prospective drought can’t be attributed to but is consistent with global warming:
A third of normal is devastating. January is the biggest month for precipitation in the Sierra. Climate change does indicate the possibility of more frequent droughts, but it’s hard to tell over a short time span.
Some farmers are leaving fields unplanted based on expected lack of water. The state’s largest irrigation district, Westlands Water in the major farming counties of Fresno and Kings, told growers on Wednesday to brace for zero water supply this year.
UPDATE: Secretary of Energy Steven Chu says California’s farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming. Chu says up to 90% of the Sierra snowpack could disappear, all but eliminating a natural storage system for water vital to agriculture.
“I don’t think the American public has gripped in its gut what could happen. We’re looking at a scenario where there’s no more agriculture in California. I don’t actually see how they can keep their cities going, either.