Standing in a dry brown meadow that typically would be buried in snow this time of year, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered the first mandatory water cutbacks in California history, a directive that will affect cities and towns statewide.<\/p>\n
With new measurements showing the state\u2019s mountain snowpack at a record low, officials said California\u2019s drought is entering uncharted territory and certain to extend into a fourth straight year. As a result, Brown issued sweeping new directives to reduce water consumption by state residents, including a mandatory 25 percent cut in urban water use.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Brown attended a routine snow survey at 6,800 feet in the Sierra Nevada, near Echo Summit on Highway 50 along the road to Lake Tahoe. The April 1 survey is an annual ritual, marking the end of the winter season, in which automated sensors and technicians in the field strive to measure how much water the state\u2019s farms and cities will receive from snowmelt.<\/p>\n
The measurements showed the snowpack at just 5 percent of average for April 1, well below the previous record low of 25 percent, which was reached last year and in 1977.<\/p>\n
California\u2019s mountain snowpack is crucial to determining summer supplies, normally accounting for at least 30 percent of total fresh water available statewide. The poor snowpack means California reservoirs likely already have reached peak storage and will receive little additional runoff from snowmelt, an unusual situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re standing on dry grass, and we should be standing in five feet of snow,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe\u2019re in an historic drought, and that demands unprecedented action.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brown\u2019s executive order directs California\u2019s more than 3,000 urban water providers to collectively cut their water use by 25 percent compared with 2013. The State Water Resources Control Board is expected to impose the new restrictions by mid-May, setting a different target for each agency depending on how much water its customers use per capita and conservation progress since last year.<\/p>\n
Standing in a dry brown meadow that typically would be buried in snow this time of year, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday ordered the first mandatory water cutbacks in California history, a directive that will affect cities and towns statewide. With new measurements showing the state\u2019s mountain snowpack at a record low, officials said California\u2019s … Continue reading Governor Issues Mandatory Water Cuts As California Snowpack Hits Record Low<\/span>