As California counties move into another year of drought, CSAC
will be providing our members with key information from the State
and Federal resources. The Department of Water Resources (DWR)
updated its Drought in California
brochure in January 2021 with comparative information,
historical precipitation, and runoff figures. In the brochure,
DWR states, “There is no universal definition of when a drought
begins or ends, nor is there a state statutory process for
defining or declaring drought. A proclamation of emergency
conditions pursuant to the California Emergency Services Act may
be used to respond to drought impacts, but such a proclamation is
not itself a definition of drought.”
As many counties know, local conditions, reservoir
conditions are just one measure of water resources. Groundwater
conditions, water recycling and desalination, and water exchanges
can play as much of a roll as runoff conditions in any given
county. Longer dry seasons with warmer temperatures are reducing
snow pack, which is often referred to as California’s natural
reservoir. Atmospheric rivers—storms bringing excessive wind and
rain over very short periods of time from the Pacific Ocean—are
defining a new type of precipitation into the state, overloading
reservoirs in the short term and not contributing to snowpack as
much as past-year storms.
Some of the most vulnerable and at-risk communities are found in
our unincorporated county areas. In light of this counties
contributed to a 2-year stakeholder process with the Department
of Water Resources that helped to develop the Drought and Water
Shortage Risk Explorer Tool for Small Water Suppliers and
Rural Communities. The explorer tool can be found
here.
For more information, please contact Catherine Freeman, AENR
Legislative Representative at cfreeman@counties.org.
