California Drought Worsens From "Extreme" To "Exceptional"
It’s widely known that California’s most recent drought has been intensifying, with any hopes of an end to those conditions seemingly far away. But now, the foremost national authority on water scarcity conditions has applied a new category to the state’s problem.
“As sweltering drought conditions continue to worsen throughout California, Ventura and other Southern California counties have shifted from ‘extreme’ to ‘exceptional’ drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor Report,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
The “exceptional” category represents the Drought Monitor’s highest-possible designation for drought conditions, and the new status came shortly after another major Western milestone in just how serious water scarcity has become recently.
“The alert came one day after U.S. officials declared the first-ever water shortage on the Colorado River, a key source of water for the region and one that supplies the Calleguas Municipal Water District [MWD], which serves approximately 75% of Ventura County,” per the Times. “In a statement released by MWD, board member Gloria D. Gray said the water management district has needed to begin tapping into its stored reservoirs, and continued to urge residents to conserve water.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has asked all state residents to voluntarily reduce their water consumption by 15% or more, and 50 of the state’s 58 counties have been placed under a state of emergency due to drought conditions. It seems that, even with the new “exceptional” designation applied to much of the state, there’s not much that officials can do aside from underscoring the importance of voluntary conservation.
“We are putting out the signal that conservation is very important right now in order to preserve our reserves for next year,” MWD spokesperson Dan Drugan said, per ABC 7, as the district indicated that portions of Ventura County will record the lowest amount of rainfall in history.
As water scarcity intensifies in California, with more of the state potentially moving to “exceptional” conditions, the rest of the U.S. will inevitably feel the consequences. Particularly as California’s agricultural operations are suffering.
“The drought is … dire in California, which produces one-third of the country’s supply of vegetables and two-thirds of its fruit,” The New York Times reported. “Nearly half of the state is in ‘exceptional’ drought, up from one-third of the state in July.”
To read more about how water systems adapt to drought conditions, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.