Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a drought emergency Friday after three years of below-average rain and snow in California.
In his call, the governor repeated a call by state officials for all residents to immediately cut water use by 20 percent. If that falls short, Schwarzenegger said, mandatory rationing is an option.
"This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with the same urgency by upgrading California's water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable water supply for our growing state," he said.
The governor in June 2008 signed a similar emergency proclamation covering nine Central Valley counties – a proclamation that was never officially lifted. The latest proclamation expands his emergency declaration statewide, and ratchets up pressure on the public and water managers to respond.
The drought has already forced farmers to fallow their fields and lay off thousands of agricultural workers, and prompted conservation throughout the state.
In the Sacramento area, three water agencies serving more than 400,000 people imposed 20 percent conservation mandates over the past week.
Friday's proclamation directs state agencies to provide assistance for affected communities and businesses, orders the Department of Water Resources to protect water quality supplies by installing temporary barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, and calls for a statewide conservation campaign.
Three dry winters have left California's state and federally operated reservoirs at their lowest levels since 1992.
Federal water managers plan to temporarily cut off water this March to thousands of California farms. The state has said it probably would deliver just 15 percent of the water contractors have requested this year.
Already, it's estimated agriculture losses could reach $2.8 billion this year and cost 95,000 jobs, said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources.
Over the past few weeks, storms have helped bring the season's rain totals to 87 percent of average, but the Sierra snowpack remains at 78 percent of normal.
The state delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and more than 750,000 acres of farmland. The federal water system serves an additional expanse of Central Valley farmland more than double that size.
Schwarzenegger, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Republican lawmakers, farmers and water agencies have argued for years that California must upgrade its decades-old water system by building more reservoirs and a canal around the Delta. Many Democrats and some environmentalists favor solutions such as more water recycling and conservation, environmental restoration and a diversification of water sources throughout California.
"The situation is extremely dire," said Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. He said Schwarzenegger's action on Friday "underscores the urgency of serving the long-term structural problems."
Compiled from Bee staff writer Matt Weiser and the Associated Press.
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.