Ongoing drought conditions mean that just 15 percent of normal supplies are expected to be available from the State Water Project in 2009, state officials said Thursday.
The state Department of Water Resources made the initial allocation forecast earlier than usual to warn Californians of the peril that awaits if the coming winter is another dry one. Historically, the predicted allocation increases as winter unfolds and water managers get a better grip on the volume of the state's critical snowpack.
But DWR Director Lester Snow said even an average winter this year won't pull California out of an ongoing drought. That's because reservoirs and groundwater are already depleted after two years of drought - and because the state's population is much bigger than the last statewide drought in the early 1990s.
"We have the potential in a third (dry) year to have the worst drought in California history," said Snow.
Thursday's 15 percent allocation is the second-lowest initial forecast in the history of the State Water Project. Only 1993 was lower at 10 percent, but that later increased to 100 percent after a wet winter. The initial forecast last year was 25 percent, which later increased to 35 percent.
Sacramentans are not directly affected by the forecast, because they don't depend on the State Water Project for their deliveries. The forecast primarily affects water users in the Bay Area and Southern California.
Yet Sacramento should take heed, because it also depends on the parched Sierra Nevada Mountains for most of its water supply. Snowmelt stored in California reservoirs is at its lowest level in 14 years.
"In fact, the entire state is wrestling with very serious drought conditions," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. "Wherever you live in California, start conserving water because you are going to be affected if drought conditions persist."
Rain is predicted throughout Northern California Friday and Saturday. But these early season storms can't be expected to alleviate the drought because they usually do little to build up the Sierra snowpack.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.