NO RAIN IN SIGHT: CALIFORNIA ON PRECIPICE OF FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR OF DROUGHT

Association of California Water AgenciesApril 9, 2015 5:54 PM

SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 9, 2015) -From wildfires to fallowed fields to the first-ever statewide mandatory cuts in urban water use, impacts of California's record drought and the array of measures in place to respond were in focus today at a half-day briefing presented by the Association of California Water Agencies in cooperation with several other organizations.

Top-level officials from state, federal and local agencies provided an update on conditions and impacts, and addressed a suite of new state actions underway as a result of Gov. Jerry Brown's executive order on drought issued April 1. The order calls for mandatory statewide reduction in water use and other measures to conserve water, increase enforcement of water use restrictions and streamline drought response by state agencies.

ACWA Executive Director Timothy Quinn said the briefing underscored the unprecedented water supply challenges as California copes with a fourth consecutive year of drought.

"It is clear from everything we heard today that California is facing a crisis like no other. But it also is clear that California's leaders are drilling down to develop plans and policies -- and provide assistance on the ground -- to help this state endure this record-breaking drought," Quinn said. "So much is on the line, and that's why so much attention and planning is taking place. Our goal today was to provide a detailed look at the impacts, and bring all the various story lines onto one page. We have a long, hot dry summer ahead of us. We can't make it rain, but we can manage through the worst and continue our long-term efforts to improve the resiliency of our state's water system."

In this photo taken Friday March 27, 2015, low-flow water emitter sits on some of the dry, cracked ground of farmer Rudy Mussi's almond orchard in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta near Stockton, Calif. As California enters the fourth year of drought, huge amounts of water are mysteriously vanishing from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and farmers whose families for generations have tilled fertile soil there are the prime suspects. Delta farmers deny they are stealing water, still, they have been asked to report how much water they{2019}re pumping and to prove their legal right. Mussi says he has senior water rights in a system more than a century old that puts him in line ahead of those with lower ranking, or junior, water rights.(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)