California is in severe drought and has nearly reached its worst case scenario. State water resources are stretched to the limit and the State Water Project has announced that they will provide no water to urban residents or farmers this year. For months there has been insufficient rain to refill reservoirs that irrigate 750,000 acres of farmland and provide water for 23 million people.
This is the first time in its 54-year history that the State Water Project has cancelled water deliveries all together. Reductions have been common in the last few years.
“The harsh weather leaves us little choice,” said DWR Director Mark Cowin. “If we are to have any hope of coping with continued dry weather and balancing multiple needs, we must act now to preserve what water remains in our reservoirs.” Without the reductions in water deliveries reservoirs will reach dead pool or near dead pool levels, which means that water is so low that it will no longer flow through the system by gravity.
Communities will “have to rely on water stored in local reservoirs, pumped from underground wells, recycled water and conservation to satisfy demand.” These are also stressed and could quickly be depleted.
Farmers will take the biggest hit. Hundreds of thousands of acres will probably go unplanted this year, which will cause severe economic problems in rural regions, including loss of jobs and economic activity. It will also substantially increase the cost of produce and other foods, affecting many millions of people.
Wells can’t be drilled deeper because water tables are at historic lows. There is no surplus water. Water is oversubscribed, say officials.
The massive State Water Project, including 21 dams and 701 miles of pipes and canals, moves water from Northern California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains all the way to San Diego delivering water to farmers and communities along the way.
In 2012 deliveries of water from the project were 65 percent of what was under contract. In 2013 it was only 35 percent. In 2014 it will be zero. Also, those that draw water from rivers and streams for irrigation will be restricted.
“Simply put, there’s not enough water in the system right now for customers to expect any water this season from the project,” said Mark Cowin, the department’s director.
California is in uncharted territory. Never before has this happened. The snowpack in the Sierra’s is only 12 percent of normal. And 2013 was the driest year since 1850. This is a huge problem that involves vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, salmon and other fish in the Sacramento River Delta and other staple crops that are trucked all over the United States. It also means that the salinity in the Delta will increase, creating water quality problems for the San Francisco Bay Area and other regions.
“Today’s action is a stark reminder that California’s drought is real,” said Gov. Jerry Brown. “We’re taking every possible step to prepare the state for the continuing dry conditions we face.”
The severe drought could get a lot worse. “and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:7
“We are amid the perils of the last days, and trying times are before us. Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, that those things that cannot be shaken may remain. Drought, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, casualties by sea and land, will multiply. Life will be unsafe anywhere, only as the life is hid with Christ in God. Now, while the angels are holding the four winds, is our opportunity to seek the Lord most earnestly.” Manuscript Release, Vol. 20, page 285