The Sierra snowpack is at less than 2/3rds its normal level.
State water officials on Thursday announced that California's snowpack is 61 percent of normal for this time of year, prompting widespread concerns that after two previous dry years, the state appears to be heading for a summer drought that will probably trigger the first widespread mandatory water rationing since the early 1990s.The San Francisco Chronicle also ran some excellent graphics to show the declining snowpack over the last three years (above and below). Scientists of course cannot definitively point to a given drought year and say it is due to global warming but this is not only consistent with what we would expect to see, it is becoming a trend. Drought may be the new "normal". The East Bay is trying to institute incentives and demand pricing with uneven results. The reality is that the true value of water is not yet reflected in the prices we pay.
"The low precipitation in January and snowpack results from today's survey indicate California is heading for a third dry year," said Lester Snow, director of the California Department of Water Resources. "We may be at the start of the worst California drought in modern history. It's imperative for Californians to conserve water immediately at home and in their businesses."
