from the October 3, 2008 California Department of Water Resources website:
http://www.water.ca.gov/drought/
Drought Conditions
California is facing the most significant water crisis in its history.
After experiencing two years of drought and the driest spring in
recorded history, water reserves are extremely low. With the
Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem near collapse, court-ordered
restrictions on water deliveries from the Delta have reduced supplies
from the state's two largest water systems by twenty to thirty percent.
Drought conditions in the Colorado River Basin and a Sierra snowpack
that is now dangerously unreliable due to global climate change, is
leaving many communities throughout California facing mandatory
restrictions on water use and/or rising water bills. If the drought
continues into next year, the results could be catastrophic to our economy.
In June 2008, the Governor issued Executive Order S-06-08
declaring a statewide drought,
which directed his state agencies and departments to take immediate
action to address the serious drought conditions and water delivery
reductions that exist in California. He also issued a Central Valley
State of Emergency Proclamation
for nine Central Valley counties (Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus,
Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern) to address urgent water
needs.
2009 Drought Water Bank
To help facilitate the exchange of water throughout the state, DWR has
established a 2009 Drought Water Bank. To implement the 2009 Drought
Water Bank DWR will purchase water from willing sellers primarily from
water suppliers upstream of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This water
will be transferred using State Water Project (SWP) or Central Valley
Project (CVP) facilities to water suppliers that are at risk of
experiencing water shortages in 2009 due to drought conditions and that
require supplemental water supplies to meet anticipated demands.
Copyright © 2008 State of California
Last Modified: 10/01/2008