Gov. Newsom expands drought emergency to Tulare, 40 other Calif. counties
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Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday expanded a drought emergency declaration to a large swath of the nation’s most populated state amid “acute water supply shortages” in northern and central parts of California.
The declaration now covers 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California’s nearly 40 million people. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows most of the state and the American West is in extensive drought just a few years after California emerged from a punishing multiyear dry spell.
Nearly 95% of Tulare County is in extreme drought, according to the monitor. Newsom pointed out that the previous emergency drought declaration never expired in Tulare, Fresno and two other California counties.
California Governor Expands Drought Emergency Declaration to 41 Counties
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday extended a drought emergency declaration to most of California amid what he called “acute water supply shortages” in northern and central parts of the state.
The drought declaration now includes a total of 41 of California’s 58 counties, which will cover some 30 percent of approximately 40 million California residents. An earlier emergency declaration had covered two counties north of San Francisco on the Russian River Mendocino and Sonoma.
“It’s self-evident to many folks that the hots are getting a lot hotter in this state, the dries are getting a lot drier,” Newsom, a Democrat, said at a press conference on Monday. “We have to recognize that we are living in a world that we were not designed to live in. We have a conveyance system, a water system, that was designed for a world that no longer exists.”
Drought emergency declared in Central Valley, Klamath region
Rachel Becker
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday declared a drought emergency in 39 additional California counties, including most of the parched Central Valley and Klamath River area.
The declaration comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and growers in the Central Valley, who this year are receiving only 5% of their expected water allocationsfrom the state. Growers say the sharp cutbacks in state and federal water supplies will mean they will suffer huge economic losses and be forced to fallow fields and sell off cattle.
A bipartisan group of Central Valley lawmakers wrote to Newsom in April pushing for a statewide emergency that would give the state more flexibility in granting water transfers. They also sought easing of some rules for reservoir releases, which would “allow for more water to go to communities throughout the state.”
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom expands drought emergency, includes Alameda
Celine Bellegarda /File
On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded an April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include 41 counties, one of which is Alameda. A press release from the governor s office noted the impact of climate change-induced early warm temperatures on the limited amount of water in major reservoirs.
Last Updated May 10, 2021
As the East Bay enters a Stage 1 drought, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expanded an April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include a total of 41 counties, including Alameda, on Monday.
The counties, which make up 30% of the state population, receive water from the Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed, according to a press release from the governor’s office. The press release noted the impact of “climate change-induced early warm temperatures” on the limited amount of water in major reservoirs.
The declaration now covers 41 of 58 counties, covering 30% of California s nearly 40 million people.
The declaration comes amid mounting pressure from lawmakers and growers in the Valley, who this year are receiving only 5% of their expected water allocations from the state. Growers say the sharp cutbacks in state and federal water supplies will mean they will suffer huge economic losses and be forced to fallow fields and sell off cattle.
A bipartisan group of Central Valley lawmakers wrote to Newsom in April pushing for a statewide emergency that would give the state more flexibility in granting water transfers. They also sought easing of some rules for reservoir releases, which would “allow for more water to go to communities throughout the state.”