Governor mulls official designation

by Brian Leubitz

It doesn’t take too long of a look around to see we are in a drought, but this picture of Millerton Lake on the San Joaquin River speaks volumes. Our extended run of pleasant weather is lovely to enjoy some outdoor activities, but not so great to fill up our reservoirs. Temperatures are expected to be in the upper 60s in San Francisco this week, and there just isn’t much sign of substantial rainfall anytime soon.

Gov. Brown hasn’t officially made any drought declarations, but he’s getting ready:

Gov. Jerry Brown said Monday his administration would soon declare that California is officially in the midst of a drought.

“It’s coming,” Brown said of a formal proclamation when asked during a press conference at Fresno City Hall. “Just be patient.”

A recent survey of the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains found the state’s water reserves are at just 20% of normal levels. Other measures have declared 2013 to be the driest year in California history.

“It’s really serious,” Brown said. “In many ways it’s a mega-drought; it’s been going on for a number of years.”(LA Times / Anthony York

At this point, even if we get a few good systems in February and March, we will still be far behind where we need to be. There will be big fights over water this summer, so we might as well start conserving now. While the big water users are primarily agricultural, we can all do our own small part.