Data as of Midnight: January 31, 2014

Current Storage: 1,262,049 AF 36% of Total Capacity 54% of Historical Avg. For This Date (Total Capacity: 3,538,000 AF) (Avg. Storage for Jan 31: 2,317,434 AF)

Lake Oroville is in California and supplies much of the water for use in that state.

Governor Jerry Brown has proclaimed a State of Emergency and directed his government officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for these drought conditions.

“We can’t make it rain, but we can be much better prepared for the terrible consequences that California’s drought now threatens, including dramatically less water for our farms and communities and increased fires in both urban and rural areas,” said Governor Brown. “I’ve declared this emergency and I’m calling all Californians to conserve water in every way possible.”

In the State of Emergency declaration, Governor Brown directed state officials to assist farmers and communities that are economically impacted by dry conditions and to ensure the state can respond if Californians face drinking water shortages. The Governor also directed state agencies to use less water and hire more firefighters and initiated a greatly expanded water conservation public awareness campaign.

In addition, the proclamation gives state water officials more flexibility to manage supply throughout California under drought conditions.

State water officials say that California’s river and reservoirs are below their record lows. Manual and electronic readings record the snowpack’s statewide water content at about 20 percent of normal average for this time of year.

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I just read an news article on BBC world news.  I thought it had such massive implications for all of us I thought it was worth sharing.  It kind of caught me by surprise and rattled me a bit.

Brandt Leinor
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

search “California drought”