State Water Project also will increase water deliveries due to brimming reservoirs
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday relaxed drought rules in California amid a winter season filled with atmospheric river storms, flooding and a massive Sierra Nevada snowpack — soaking conditions that followed three dry, grueling years that had been marked by water shortages, extreme wildfires and heat waves.
“We’ve had so much rain and snow this year that we have emerged from drought,” Nemeth said of much of the state. “But we know that weather has been moving between extremely dry and wet conditions, and that extremely dry conditions can re-emerge. Californians need to conserve water as a new way of life, and California also needs to continue investing so that when dry conditions return we are more secure in our water supplies.
On Thursday, 64% of California was no longer in a drought, up from just 3% three months ago, according to thea weekly report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The report, which looks at reservoir levels, groundwater, soil moisture, rainfall and other factors, showed all Bay Area counties, and all coastal counties, along with most of the Sierra Nevada, completely drought-free.
California’s three-year drought was among the most severe on record, with widespread water shortages, record heatwaves and deadly wildfires. But since January, arid landscapes have given way to an abundance of water in many areas. The huge snowpack will fill reservoirs when it melts in the coming months. It is already raising major flood concerns, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley.The remarkable turnaround came after three very dry and difficult years for California.
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