Entire state of California suffering from 'severe drought'

By Erin Smith

Published: 16 May, 2014

The entire state of California is now suffering from either 'severe drought', 'extreme drought' or 'exceptional drought', according to a report released by the US Drought Monitor.

The entire state of California is now suffering from severe, extreme, or expectional drought US Drought Monitor map of California's drought severitySource: Mark Svoboda, National Drought Mitigation CenterThe U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC-UNL.

It is the first time this millennium that such extreme drought conditions have hit the state.

According to the weekly report, 24.8% of California is suffering from "exceptional drought", the severest and most intense drought conditions. The US Drought severity classification scheme defines the category D4 or exceptional drought status as "exceptional and widespread crop/pasture losses; shortages of water in reservoirs, streams, and wells creating water emergencies".

Additionally, 51.9% of the state has been deemed a category D3 status of extreme drought, which is defined as "major crop/pasture losses; widespread water shortages or restrictions".

The US Drought Monitor was established in 1999 and is a weekly map of drought conditions that is produced jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the National Drought Mitigation Centre (NDMC) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC-UNL.Mark Svoboda, National Drought Mitigation Center

Things could potentially get worse in the next week as a heatwave is expected to hit the state and cause temperatures to rise.

The report said: "All of California is now depicted as being in severe drought (D2) or worse this week, with the D3/D4 areas remaining unchanged. Attention this week turns to the heat wave settling in, which will only serve to exacerbate and accelerate drought impact concerns across the state. Increases on water demand and the increased risk of fire will ramp up as the heat does."

The abnormally dry conditions are contributing to increased risk of wildfires across the sate. Since the beginning of the year Cal Fire, the state's fire protection agency, has already battled 1,400 wildfires, which is more than twice the average for this time of the year.

In an effort to help farmers who need access to irrigation water, the city of Healdsburg in Sonoma County recently approved the use of recycled municipal wastewater to irrigate vines for free. The City of Healdsburg Water Department is allowing up to 15 private tanker trucks daily to be filled and transported to local irrigation ponds.

Other farming regions around the state are looking at utilising recycled wastewater for agricultural purposes.

Printer friendly version