California Drought and Farming

The California drought has caused levels of exceptional drought throughout California’s Central Valley and surrounding areas. The California drought is currently affecting 47% of the state with exceptional drought and these conditions are worsening in the agricultural dependent Central Valley. The California Drought has had a national impact on food prices and cost of US produce. Growers throughout California and the Central Valley have adapted to the drought by utilizing treated municipal wastewater.

California farmers will lose over 564,000 acres because of the California drought. Over 11 trillion gallons of water are needed to end California’s Drought, and the California drought is said to continue into 2016. The California Drought has caused 428,000 acres, or 5 percent, of irrigated cropland to be unusable in the Central Valley due to drought conditions.

How the California Drought Affects Municipalities

The California drought has caused the statewide reduction of 25% in urban water usage. The California Drought has caused mandatory water rationing and this is currently in effect across of all states water sectors, from domestic and municipal through agricultural and industrial. The California drought conditions are currently the responsibility of the municipalities to manage community water supplies and to implement water rationing to extend the duration of available supply.

California’s water supplies are now at a third of capacity due to the extreme drought conditions and the underground water supply is being depleted rapidly. The California drought is causing lower water levels in California, the water is coming from warmer, shallower portions of the water supply, which is causing algae growth and foul tasting water.

Contact our San Diego office to see how Layfield can help you preserve water.

References

1. https://watershed.ucdavis.edu/files/biblio/2015Drought_PrelimAnalysis.pdf

2. http://www.inquisitr.com/1923332/california-drought-2015-nasa-predictions-claim-water-running-out-in-2016-as- megadrought-hits-hard/

3. http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10978

4. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-governor-issues-unprecedented-statewide-water-restrictions/

5. http://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/04/the-drought-is-making-bay-area-water-taste-dreadful/389372/