This past Easter
weekend, I took an excursion
into the backroads of the Ojai Valley to attend a family gathering. As I drove
through the windy countryside, I could not help but notice how dry the landscape
was. Living so close to the beach, I rarely have a chance to visit the
surrounding mountain areas. I was astonished at how the vegetation and shrubbery
was so depleted of water.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
declared a state of emergency click here for article
because of three years of below-average rain and snowfall in California, a
step that urges urban water agencies to reduce water use by 20%. Mandatory
conservation is an option if the declaration and other measures are
insufficient. The drought has forced farmers to fallow their fields, put
thousands of agricultural workers out of work, and led to conservation measures
in cities throughout the state, which is the top agricultural producer in the
US. Agriculture losses could reach $2.8 billion this year and cost 95,000
jobs. This drought will have a devastating impact on our
people, our communities, our economy, and our environment, making today’s action
mandatory.
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% of the water contractors have requested this year. Schwarzenegger’s
2008 executive order directed the state Department of Water Resources to speed
water transfers to areas with the worst shortages and help local water districts
with conservation efforts.
Over the last few weeks, storms
have helped bring the season’s rain totals to 87% of average,but the Sierra
snowpack remains at 78% of
normal for this time of year. State hydrologists say the snowpack must reach
between 120% to 130% of
normal to make up for the two previous dry winters and replenish California’s
key reservoirs. The Governor’s order leaves the door open for more severe
restrictions at a later date. Additional measures could include mandatory water
rationing and water reductions if there is no improvement in water reserves and
residents fail to conserve on their own.
This is just another sign that
mother nature is telling us that we need to change our ways and seriously
implement the technologies that companies have developed in order to conserve
before we deplete our water resource any more than we already have.