<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"><head><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml><o:OfficeDocumentSettings><o:AllowPNG/><o:PixelsPerInch>96</o:PixelsPerInch></o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--></head><body><div class="ydpe92db34dyahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family:garamond, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><div class="ydpe92db34dsignature" dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2021-04-02/drought-conditions-hit-northern-california-harder-than-in-the-south" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2021-04-02/drought-conditions-hit-northern-california-harder-than-in-the-south</a></div><div class="ydpe92db34dsignature"><div dir="ltr" data-setdir="false"><div><h1 class="ydp8b342dfeheadline" style="margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: -0.2px;">Drought is back. But Southern California faces less pain than Northern California</h1><div class="ydp8b342dfepage-wrapper" style="margin-top: 40px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfepage-main-content"><div class="ydp8b342dfepage-lead-media" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px;"><img src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b6eef56/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4975x3317+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffb%2F58%2Fb05e2bd94b08ac0383d71fe226fb%2Fap20058743250040.jpg" alt="A man plunges a measuring tube into the snow pack" style="vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; display: block; max-width: 800px; width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px;" class=""><div class="ydp8b342dfefigure-content" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfefigure-caption" style="display: inline;">Sean de Guzman, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources measures snowpack at Phillips Station near Echo Summit in February.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></div><div class="ydp8b342dfefigure-credit" style="display: inline; margin-left: 5px;">(Rich Pedroncelli /Associated Press)</div></div></div><div class="ydp8b342dfebyline" style="margin-bottom: 20px; max-width: 680px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><div class="ydp8b342dfeauthors" style="width: auto; margin-bottom: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; margin-right: 10px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfeauthor-name" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; display: inline; text-transform: uppercase;"><span class="ydp8b342dfebyline-prefix" style="text-transform: none;">By </span><a href="https://www.latimes.com/people/bettina-boxall" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span>BETTINA BOXALL</span></a><span class="ydp8b342dfeauthor-title" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 500; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 0px 4px; display: inline;">STAFF WRITER </span></div></div><span class="ydp8b342dfepublished-date-day">APRIL 2, 2021<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></span><span class="ydp8b342dfepublished-time">5 AM PT<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></span><div class="ydp8b342dfepage-actions" style="display: block;"><ul class="ydp8b342dfeaction-bar-menu" style="margin: 0px; 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background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-size: auto; position: relative; z-index: 2; width: 100%; max-width: 400px; border-radius: 0px 0px 2px 2px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233);" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"><img class="ydp5e3dcdbacard-object-1 ydp5e3dcdbayahoo-ignore-inline-image ydp5e3dcdbaymail-preserve-class" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/23/logos/latimes.png" style="min-width:36px;margin-top:3px" height="36"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="ydp5e3dcdbacard-title" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42); max-width: 314px;">Drought is back. But Southern California faces less pain than Northern C...</h2><p class="ydp5e3dcdbacard-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 155, 167);">Record amounts of regional water storage will buffer urban Southern California from the effects of drought this ...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></ul></div></div><div class="ydp8b342dfepage-article-container" style="max-width: 680px; margin: 0px auto;"><div class="ydp8b342dfepage-article-body"><div class="ydp8b342dferich-text-article-body"><div class="ydp8b342dferich-text-article-body-content ydp8b342dferich-text-body" style="font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal;"><p style="margin: 0px 0px 30px;">Drought is returning to California as a second, consecutive parched winter draws to a close in the usually wet north, leaving the state’s major reservoirs half empty.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">But this latest period of prolonged dryness will probably play out very differently across this vast state.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">In Northern California, areas dependent on local supplies, such as Sonoma County, could be the hardest-hit. Central Valley growers have been told of steep cuts to upcoming water deliveries. Environmentalists too are warning of grave harm to native fish.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Yet, hundreds of miles to the south, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California reports record amounts of reserves — enough to carry the state’s most populous region through this year and even next.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Memories of<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-snowpack-20150331-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">unprecedented water-use restrictions</a><span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span>in cities and towns, dry country wells and shriveled croplands linger from California’s punishing 2012-16 drought.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Officials say the lessons of those withering years have left the state in a somewhat better position to deal with its inevitable dry periods, and Gov. Gavin Newsom is not expected to declare a statewide drought emergency this year.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></p><div class="ydp8b342dfeenhancement" data-align-center="" style="width: 680px; clear: both; margin: 30px 0px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-wrapper"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-media" style="position: relative; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; width: 110px; max-width: 110px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-02/california-snowpack-increases-a-drought-could-be-on-the-horizon" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; display: block; position: relative;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydp8b342dfeimage" alt="(left to right) Anthony Burdock Engineer, Water Resources in Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Section, and Sean de Guzman, Chief of the California Department of Water Resources Snow Surveys and Water Supply Forecasting Section, conduct the third media snow survey of the 2021 season at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The survey is held approximately 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County. Photo taken March 2, 2021. Ken James / California Department of Water Resources, FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY" data-src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c0214c1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5568x3712+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F65%2F14%2Fca167dfb4f0db33aeb7566246b66%2Fkj-snow-survey-0717-03-02-21.jpg" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c0214c1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5568x3712+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F65%2F14%2Fca167dfb4f0db33aeb7566246b66%2Fkj-snow-survey-0717-03-02-21.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; display: block; max-width: 800px; width: 100%;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></div><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-content"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title-container"><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-category" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CALIFORNIA</a></p><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-02/california-snowpack-increases-a-drought-could-be-on-the-horizon" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This year will likely be critically dry for California, state officials say</a></p></div><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-timestamp" data-date="March 2, 2021" data-shouldshowdate="true" data-shouldshowtime="true" data-timestamp="1614730406711" data-show-timestamp="true" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; display: block; margin: 0px; text-transform: none;">March 2, 2021</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“We don’t see ourselves in that position in terms of supply,” said Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth. “If it’s dry next year, then maybe it’s a different story.”</p><div class="ydp8b342dfeenhancement" data-align-center="" style="width: 680px; clear: both; margin: 30px 0px;"><div id="ydp8b342dfenativo_1"><div class="ydp8b342dfentv-moap ydp8b342dfentv1066256-426559-71455 ydp8b342dfenoskim" id="ydp8b342dfentv1066256-426559-71455" style="width: 680px; background-color: rgb(242, 242, 242); position: relative; border-color: rgb(214, 214, 214); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; padding: 5px; margin: 20px 0px; display: table;"><div class="ydp8b342dfentv-img" style="width: 250px; vertical-align: middle; display: table-cell;"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/paid-posts/?prx_t=P4IGA6IJKAEEUQA&prx_ro=s&ntv_oc=134&ntv_fr" title="Helping your child’s smile shine" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img alt="Helping your child’s smile shine" class="ydp8b342dfentv-image-wrapper" src="https://ntvcld-a.akamaihd.net/image/upload/w_600,h_338,c_fill,g_auto:text,f_auto/assets/8E0BE83421AB47A194EE60F0A82D75C4.jpg" style="vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; display: block; max-width: 100%;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true" data-id="1617410770870"></a></div><div class="ydp8b342dfentv-entry" style="vertical-align: middle; display: table-cell; padding-left: 15px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfentv-disclaimer" style="text-transform: uppercase; padding: 5px 5px 4px; background-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); display: inline-block; font-size: 12px; line-height: 12px;"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/paid-posts/?prx_t=P4IGA6IJKAEEUQA&prx_ro=s&ntv_oc=134&ntv_fr" title="Helping your child’s smile shine" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; font-weight: 700;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PAID CONTENT</a></div><h2 class="ydp8b342dfentv-title" style="margin: 5px 0px; font-size: 20px; line-height: 22px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfentv-headline ydp8b342dfentv_link1066256-426559 ydp8b342dfentv-headline-anchor" href="https://www.latimes.com/paid-posts/?prx_t=P4IGA6IJKAEEUQA&prx_ro=s&ntv_oc=134&ntv_fr" title="Helping your child’s smile shine" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Helping your child’s smile shine</a></h2><div class="ydp8b342dfentv-author" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;">By<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://www.latimes.com/paid-posts/?prx_t=P4IGA6IJKAEEUQA&prx_ro=s&ntv_oc=134&ntv_fr" style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brandpoint</a></div><p style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px; margin: 5px 0px !important;">(BPT) - February is Children’s Dental Health Month. What better time to help ensure that your child’s smile shines brightly for years to come? Here are some useful tips for protecting your child’s teeth from infancy on. Get an early start! Your...</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Southern California is a case in point.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Lake Oroville, the big Sacramento Valley reservoir that helps supply the urban Southland, is only 41% full and the Metropolitan Water District can expect a mere 5% of full deliveries from the north this year.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">But the agency has more water than ever stored in regional reservoirs and groundwater banks.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“We’re not contemplating any difficulty in meeting deliveries,” said Brad Coffey, water resources manager for the MWD, which imports supplies from the Colorado River and Northern California.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Los Angeles, which is partially supplied by the MWD, is similarly confident that it will have no problem meeting local demand. “We’re not in any shortage,” said Delon Kwan, assistant director of water resources for the L.A. Department of Water and Power.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">L.A.'s water use has declined to 1970s levels, despite the fact that California’s biggest city has nearly 1 million more residents than it did then. Restrictions on landscape watering have been in place for a decade, and the city continues to offer conservation rebates for water-efficient appliances and lawn removal.<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Across the state, overall urban water use remains 16% less than it was in 2013.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“We see an enduring conservation and efficiency from the last drought,” said E. Joaquin Esquivel, chairman of the State Water Resources Control Board. “We changed fundamentally our water use on the urban side.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">System improvements have been made in<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-east-porterville-20160819-snap-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">small rural communities</a><span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span>that ran out of water when their wells dried up during the last drought.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Though agriculture is expected to once again turn to groundwater to make up for sharp cuts in federal irrigation deliveries, officials are hoping to avert a repeat of the last drought, when growers rushed to<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drought-drilling-20140726-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">drill new wells</a><span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span>and ramped up pumping so much that parts of the intensely farmed San Joaquin Valley<a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-groundwater-20150318-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span>sank several feet.</a></p><div class="ydp8b342dfeenhancement" data-align-center="" style="width: 680px; clear: both; margin: 30px 0px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-wrapper"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-media" style="position: relative; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; width: 110px; max-width: 110px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-groundwater-20150318-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; display: block; position: relative;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydp8b342dfeimage" alt="Farmer Charlie Pitigliano walks past a well head at his family farm near Pixley." data-src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/171c949/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1365+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F56%2Ff1%2F8a8dfb84c8312deca171d8c8a46c%2Fla-me-groundwater-pg-004" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/171c949/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1365+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F56%2Ff1%2F8a8dfb84c8312deca171d8c8a46c%2Fla-me-groundwater-pg-004" style="vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; display: block; max-width: 800px; width: 100%;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></div><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-content"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title-container"><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-category" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CALIFORNIA</a></p><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-groundwater-20150318-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Overpumping of Central Valley groundwater creating a crisis, experts say</a></p></div><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-timestamp" data-date="March 18, 2015" data-shouldshowdate="true" data-shouldshowtime="true" data-timestamp="1426676400000" data-show-timestamp="true" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; display: block; margin: 0px; text-transform: none;">March 18, 2015</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“I don’t fully expect the same scenario to play out,” said state Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot. “It was more of a free-for-all” before passage of a 2014 state law that requires groundwater users to stop chronic overpumping of the enormous Central Valley aquifer by 2040.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“My sense is that there’s a strong understanding among local water agencies that they now have a responsibility to achieve sustainability,” he added.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">But environmentalists and the commercial salmon industry worry that this year will be a repeat of 2014-15, when low flows in the Sacramento River pushed water temperatures to lethally warm levels for salmon eggs, virtually<span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drought-fish-20150824-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wiping out two years of reproduction</a><span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span>for endangered winter-run Chinook.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“Good for Metropolitan — they’ve got record storage,” said Barry Nelson of Western Water Strategies. “But the ecosystem and the fishing industry are cratering.”</p><div class="ydp8b342dfeenhancement" data-align-center="" style="width: 680px; clear: both; margin: 30px 0px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-wrapper"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-media" style="position: relative; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; width: 110px; max-width: 110px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drought-fish-20150824-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; display: block; position: relative;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydp8b342dfeimage" alt="Fish culturalist Beau Hopkins stores winter-run salmon eggs after counting them at the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery north of Redding, Calif." data-src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4cd6555/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1887x1258+81+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2Ff5%2Fa73888e84e54066787491f4abf8e%2Fla-2434270-me-adv-drought-fish-25-brv-jpg-20150823" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4cd6555/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1887x1258+81+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F26%2Ff5%2Fa73888e84e54066787491f4abf8e%2Fla-2434270-me-adv-drought-fish-25-brv-jpg-20150823" style="vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; display: block; max-width: 800px; width: 100%;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></div><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-content"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title-container"><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-category" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/california" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CALIFORNIA</a></p><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-drought-fish-20150824-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The drought’s hidden victim: California’s native fish</a></p></div><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-timestamp" data-date="Aug. 24, 2015" data-shouldshowdate="true" data-shouldshowtime="true" data-timestamp="1440410400000" data-show-timestamp="true" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; display: block; margin: 0px; text-transform: none;">Aug. 24, 2015</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Precipitation is only about half of average in key northern and central Sierra Nevada watersheds and 39% of average in the southern range. The statewide snowpack that helps fill reservoirs is well below average — 59% on Thursday — but not nearly as grim as 2014, when it was 33%, or the record low of 5% in 2015.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">With Shasta Lake, the biggest reservoir in the federal Central Valley Project system, 53% full, the Bureau of Reclamation is significantly cutting supplies to many farmers in the San Joaquin Valley.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Growers on the west side of the valley are slated to get only 5% of their contract amounts, and even those deliveries have been temporarily frozen. On the east side, Millerton Lake deliveries have been reduced to 20% of contracted amounts.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">But the cuts will be far less for irrigation districts with the oldest diversion rights on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Those senior rights holders can expect 75% of their contract amounts, which comes out to a total of 2.2 million acre-feet — more than four times what Los Angeles uses in a year.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Those huge contracts, which the bureau signed when the Central Valley Project dammed the Sacramento and San Joaquin, have long been attacked by the environmental community.</p><div class="ydp8b342dfeenhancement" data-align-center="" style="width: 680px; clear: both; margin: 30px 0px;"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-wrapper"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-media" style="position: relative; margin: 0px 20px 0px 0px; width: 110px; max-width: 110px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drought-drilling-20140726-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor; display: block; position: relative;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img class="ydp8b342dfeimage" alt="Well drilling workers Tommy Hutchinson, left, and Angel Pimentel react to a gush of muddy water as they prepare to drill deeper. Demand is so high that their employer's waiting list is a year long." data-src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/36ffc5e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1365+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F90%2Fae%2Fb6fb3cffaf09c9b934b295b5ab8e%2Fla-1924687-fi-drilling-rrc-0041-jpg-20140725" src="https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/36ffc5e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1365+0+0/resize/840x560!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F90%2Fae%2Fb6fb3cffaf09c9b934b295b5ab8e%2Fla-1924687-fi-drilling-rrc-0041-jpg-20140725" style="vertical-align: middle; border-style: none; display: block; max-width: 800px; width: 100%;" data-inlineimagemanipulating="true"></a></div><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-content"><div class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title-container"><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-category" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; margin: 0px 0px 10px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink" href="https://www.latimes.com/business" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">BUSINESS</a></p><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-title" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: times new roman, times, serif; font-weight: 600; font-style: normal; letter-spacing: -0.2px;"><a class="ydp8b342dfelink enhancr_card_7910014751" href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drought-drilling-20140726-story.html" style="background-color: transparent; color: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; text-decoration-style: solid; text-decoration-color: currentcolor;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Farmers drilling deeper for water as drought drags on</a></p><div><br></div><div id="ydpf407a623enhancr_card_7910014751" class="ydpf407a623yahoo-link-enhancr-card ydpf407a623ymail-preserve-class ydpf407a623ymail-preserve-style" style="max-width:400px;font-family:YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" data-url="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drought-drilling-20140726-story.html" data-type="YENHANCER" data-size="MEDIUM" contenteditable="false"><a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-drought-drilling-20140726-story.html" style="text-decoration-line: none !important; text-decoration-style: solid !important; text-decoration-color: currentcolor !important; color: rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;" class="ydpf407a623yahoo-enhancr-cardlink" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><table class="ydpf407a623card-wrapper ydpf407a623yahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td width="400"><table class="ydpf407a623card ydpf407a623yahoo-ignore-table" style="max-width:400px;border-width:1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgb(224, 228, 233);border-radius:2px" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpf407a623card-primary-image-cell" style="background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-size: cover; position: relative; border-radius: 2px 2px 0px 0px; min-height: 175px;" valign="top" height="175" bgcolor="#000000" background="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/Djc0nqY8tYv8ZTVvSjBrtg--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ef50b86/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1075+0+145/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F90%2Fae%2Fb6fb3cffaf09c9b934b295b5ab8e%2Fla-1924687-fi-drilling-rrc-0041-jpg-20140725.cf.jpg"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:0;left:0;"><v:fill type="frame" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/Djc0nqY8tYv8ZTVvSjBrtg--~A/Zmk9ZmlsbDt3PTQwMDtoPTIwMDthcHBpZD1pZXh0cmFjdA--/https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ef50b86/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2048x1075+0+145/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F90%2Fae%2Fb6fb3cffaf09c9b934b295b5ab8e%2Fla-1924687-fi-drilling-rrc-0041-jpg-20140725.cf.jpg"/></v:rect><![endif]--><table class="ydpf407a623card-overlay-container-table ydpf407a623yahoo-ignore-table" style="width:100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpf407a623card-overlay-cell" style="background-color: transparent; border-radius: 2px 2px 0px 0px; min-height: 175px;" valign="top" bgcolor="transparent" background="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"><!--[if gte mso 9]><v:rect fill="true" stroke="false" style="width:396px;height:175px;position:absolute;top:-18px;left:0;"><v:fill type="pattern" color="#000000" src="https://s.yimg.com/cv/ae/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV21/1/enhancr_gradient-400x175.png"/><v:textbox inset="0,0,20px,0"><![endif]--><table class="ydpf407a623yahoo-ignore-table" style="width: 100%; min-height: 175px;" height="175" border="0"><tbody><tr><td class="ydpf407a623card-richInfo2" style="text-align:left;padding:15px 0 0 15px;vertical-align:top"></td><td class="ydpf407a623card-actions" style="text-align:right;padding:15px 15px 0 0;vertical-align:top"><div class="ydpf407a623card-share-container"></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!--[if gte mso 9]></v:textbox></v:rect><![endif]--></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td><table class="ydpf407a623card-info ydpf407a623yahoo-ignore-table" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-repeat: repeat; background-attachment: scroll; background-image: none; background-size: auto; position: relative; z-index: 2; width: 100%; max-width: 400px; border-radius: 0px 0px 2px 2px; border-top: 1px solid rgb(224, 228, 233);" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;padding:16px 0 16px 12px;vertical-align:top;border-radius:0 0 0 2px"><img class="ydpf407a623card-object-1 ydpf407a623yahoo-ignore-inline-image ydpf407a623ymail-preserve-class" src="https://s.yimg.com/nq/storm/assets/enhancrV2/23/logos/latimes.png" style="min-width:36px;margin-top:3px" height="36"></td><td style="vertical-align:middle;padding:12px 24px 16px 12px;width:99%;font-family:YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-radius:0 0 2px 0"><h2 class="ydpf407a623card-title" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin: 0px 0px 6px; font-family: YahooSans, Helvetica Neue, Segoe UI, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(38, 40, 42); max-width: 314px;">Farmers drilling deeper for water as drought drags on</h2><p class="ydpf407a623card-description" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; color: rgb(151, 155, 167);">On a dusty clearing between a fallow wheat field and wilting orange groves, Steve Arthur's crew of two mud-splat...</p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div><p class="ydp8b342dfepromo-timestamp" data-date="July 26, 2014" data-shouldshowdate="true" data-shouldshowtime="true" data-timestamp="1406376000000" data-show-timestamp="true" style="font-family: arial, helvetica neue, helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; display: block; margin: 0px; text-transform: none;">July 26, 2014</p></div></div></div><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">In a March 12 letter to the state water board, environmental groups complained that releases from Shasta Lake for senior rights holders will deplete the reservoir of cold water needed later in the year to maintain salmon-friendly temperatures on the Sacramento River.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">They also point out that meager precipitation is not the only reason Oroville, the State Water Project’s principal reservoir, is so low.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">In 2018, the state and federal water projects amended a 30-year-old agreement that spelled out how they would coordinate operations to meet water quality and environmental standards in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a distribution hub for both projects.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Because Shasta’s capacity is considerably greater than Oroville’s, the original pact called for Shasta to provide the bulk of the releases necessary to meet delta standards. The 2018 agreement shifted some of the federal obligations to the state.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Especially in dry years, the state now has to release more water from Oroville to flow through the delta and out to sea than previously required. That has resulted in a corresponding reduction in state deliveries from the delta and an increase in federal deliveries.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">The Water Resources Department did not provide numbers for this year. But in 2018, the agency estimated the new formula would reduce state deliveries by an average of 100,000 acre-feet a year, with that number increasing to 200,000 acre-feet in very dry years.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Nemeth acknowledged that the new operating terms have played a role in Oroville’s steep drop. But she attributed most of the decline to what she called “catastrophically dry” conditions in the Feather River watershed that feeds Oroville.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">She also defended the 2018 deal, saying that in wet years it allows the state project to slightly increase delta exports to the MWD and other customers.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">“It’s a trade-off,” said Doug Obegi, an environmental attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “It’s not solving the problem that they’ve contracted more water than can be sustainably delivered.”</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">Two years ago, Shasta and Oroville were nearly full, thanks to 2019, the nation’s second-wettest year on record; and 2017, the wettest year on record in the northern Sierra.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px;">That the levels of California’s two biggest reservoirs fell so quickly is another reminder of the effects of climate change, which is accentuating the swings from drought to flood that California has always experienced.</p><p style="margin: 30px 0px 0px;">“Are we adapting enough? No,” Esquivel said.<b style="font-weight: bolder;"><span class="ydp8b342dfeApple-converted-space"> </span></b>“We need to adapt further and faster and more. And we know that it takes dollars and resources to accomplish that work. It’s not any one thing. It’s investing in infrastructure … in water systems that will receive the brunt of the climate crisis.”</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>