A drought emergency has been declared across California by Governor Gavin Newsom, who has urged the state’s residents to do everything they can to conserve water. The announcement comes after a recent statement released from the governor’s office, which declared that California is experiencing its worst drought since the late 1800s. The governor’s statement arrived after state water officials announced that Californians had managed to cut down their water usage by 5% throughout August.
“The western U.S. faces a potential third year of drought. It’s crucial that Californians across the state intensify our efforts to save water in every way possible,” warned Governor Newsom. While most of California’s counties have been in a situation of drought emergency since July, the measures were taken during the summers. Newsom’s announcement adds the remaining eight counties that had not previously been included in the emergency declaration. The counties include Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, Imperial, Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura.
In his statement, the Californian governor stressed that prompt action was needed to deal with the crisis. “With significant investments and urgent action, the state is moving to protect our communities, businesses, and ecosystems from the immediate impacts of the drought emergency. We are building long-term water resilience to help the state meet the challenge of climate change making droughts more common and severe,” he added.
David Pettijohn, Director of Water Resources at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, voiced the concern and uncertainty that is currently spreading across the state. In his statement, he said, “We think we will be able to manage through this year; however, next year is the issue. And we don’t know what the water year is going to look like. Nobody can predict the weather.”
Governor Newsom’s emergency declaration was followed by the surprising news that a cooling system is set to sweep across much of California, with rainfall expected from San Diego to Los Angeles and even snow in northern areas. The administration will continue to assess the evolving drought conditions and consider all tools available to respond in real-time.
