As drought deepens, California reverses course and orders cutback in water deliveries
California officials imposed a cutback in water deliveries from the State Water Project on Friday, citing weeks of dry weather and a bleak weather forecast for the rest of March.
The announcement by the state Department of Water Resources marks a reversal in fortune after an increase an allocation two months ago. It leaves little doubt that California is heading into a third consecutive year of drought — and is struggling to cope with wide swings in water conditions.
The State Water Project is an elaborate network of reservoirs and canals that delivers water all over California; its largest customer is the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which serves 19 million urban residents.
In December, the state announced that it wouldn’t be able to make any water deliveries in 2022, except for “critical health and safety” supplies to some municipalities. Then, after record snowfall in the Sierra Nevada, it announced in January it would be able to supply a 15% allocation to its member districts.
Since then, the faucet has been almost completely shut off, and on Friday the state dialed the allocation back to 5%. That matches the water deliveries that were made last year.
“We are experiencing climate change whiplash in real time with extreme swings between wet and dry conditions,” said Karla Nemeth, the director of the Department of Water Resources, in a prepared statement. “While we had hoped for more rain and snow, DWR has been preparing for a third consecutive year of drought since October.”
The federal government’s Central Valley Project, which runs parallel to the state’s water network, has announced a 0% initial allocation for most of its member agencies. The federal project mainly serves agricultural irrigation districts.
The state’s announcement was anticipated. Within minutes, officials from Metropolitan in Southern California issued a statement lamenting the cutbacks.
“We’re getting a fraction of what we used to receive — lower deliveries than any time in history,” said Adel Hagekhalil, the giant urban agency’s general manager.
Most of the state’s major reservoirs are in bad shape and on average are holding 30% less water than usual for this time of year.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has so far resisted ordering mandatory water cutbacks for urban users, relying instead on a 15% voluntary call for conservation. But for the most part, Californians aren’t responding. Officials in his administration have hinted that mandatory cuts could be coming this year. Newsom’s predecessor ordered a 25% cut in urban use during the drought in 2015.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 11:34 AM with the headline "As drought deepens, California reverses course and orders cutback in water deliveries."