How can there be a simultaneous drought and flood in California?
Two words that government officials always try to avoid saying are “drought’s over” — even when there’s flooding.
The definition of drought that I learned in school is pretty much the same as the ones I found in a Google search: “A prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to a shortage of water.” And: “A deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time…resulting in a water shortage.” Or simply: “Drier than normal times.”Storms delivered by atmospheric rivers drenched most of California last month.
“One of the wettest three-week periods on record in California,” the Department of Water Resources proclaimed in a statement.When I checked the Department of Water Resources website last week, Los Angeles’ precipitation for this point in the rainy season was 156% of normal. In San Diego, it was 138%. Riverside was roughly average: 104%.
“There’s no single thing that determines when a drought is over,” says Lisa Lien-Mager, spokesperson for the state Natural Resources Agency. She acknowledged that “it’s entirely possible the drought is over in some parts of the state.” Government seems to have narrowed its definition of drought to just “a shortage of water” — no matter how much Mother Nature gives us.
Nine years ago, California finally became the last Western state to begin regulating groundwater — but only drip by drip. Groundwater usage won’t become sustainable for another 20 years. Newsom and the Legislature should try to speed that up but won’t because it would cost them politically.Farmers will be helped this summer by increased surface water. Big reservoirs are being replenished by runoff from the January downpours.
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