The Central Valley is in a drought. This is dangerous as water is needed by all living things people, animals and plants. During severe drought, water restrictions are activated to save what water is needed to live. This makes it difficult to fight wildfires and enable the agricultural community to farm. California generates more than 150 agricultural products for the nation. Without California’s ability to grow, produce and husband livestock, California’s economy and peoples’ lives will be severely hampered. Farmers will not be able to plant as many crops as normal and livestock will suffer.
Reservoir levels in California are stable even though Southern California is in a drought status. Click on the image below for current status.
The 2012 – 2016 Drought resulted in losses of $247 in crop revenue and 1,815 farm seasonal jobs. Water levels in Lake Oroville, as of 30 July 2021, is 25% of capacity and 247 feet below 2019 water levels. Water levels this low will cause the power plant to shut down due to the lack of water flow. Folsom Lake is 87 feet below June 2019 water levels. Other Lakes around Northern California are in similar shape. Water levels from all Northern California reservoirs affect all counties.
The thing about water in California is Northern and Central California has the ability to withstand droughts due to snowpack and the limited number of reservoirs available. The biggest challenge is when there is a drought, water is drawn from Northern and Central California to Southern California south of the San Gabriel mountains. Billions of dollars, both Federal and State, are spent in attempt to solve these problems. California needs to change their methods of reserving water and look to other arid states and countries as to how they reserve ground water when water is plentiful so when times become dire California has enough water to spare.
