Federal government drastically cuts water deliveries to California cities, farms
In a drastic move signaling California's looming drought crisis, federal water managers announced Wednesday they're cutting water allocations to farms and cities again.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which supplies water in California through the Central Valley Project, said it expects to cut its delivery to the urban areas it serves by more than half, allocating 25% of the contracted amount rather than the 55% that was announced earlier.
Water districts in the San Francisco Bay Area that have contracts with the Central Valley Project and are affected by the cut are Contra Costa Water District, East Bay Municipal Utility District and Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Santa Clara County's district told the San Jose Mercury News that the reduced allocation will lead to mandatory water restrictions across Santa Clara County. The district asked its South Bay customers in May for a 25% voluntary reduction in their water use; in June, the board will vote on which mandatory rules to impose, the Mercury News reported.
The federal government also announced that their water allocations to farm-irrigation districts in the Central Valley will be reduced to zero. In February, the bureau allocated farmers 5% of their contract supply.
The Sacramento Bee reported the last time drastic cuts were made like this was amid the historic drought in 2015.
The Central Valley Project is a network of dams, reservoirs, canals and hydroelectric power plants that stretches more than 400 miles between Shasta Lake and Bakersfield. In a normal year, it provides drinking water to 2.5 million people a year and 5 million acre-feet of water to farmers.
This year has been anything but normal, with the past two winters marked by dry conditions. Reservoirs across the state are at half capacity, and the snowpack that supplies the Central Valley Project through the spring and summer was at 3% of normal as of Wednesday, according to the California Department of Water Resources.