California cities should prepare for fourth year of draught, officials say

Federal water managers told California residents and industrial users on Monday to prepare for a fourth year of drought, warning that certain “conservation actions” might be carried out throughout the year. 

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the agency of the Interior Department that oversees water resource management, specifically said that places receiving their water from the Central Valley might see an “extremely limited water supply” in 2023. 

“If drought conditions extend into 2023, Reclamation will find it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to meet all the competing needs of the Central Valley Project without beginning the implementation of additional and more severe water conservation actions,” the agency said in a statement.

The agency oversees several reservoirs in the state, many of which are some of the main sources for more than 2.5 million people and more than 3 million acres of land in central California, including Greater Sacramento and San Francisco Bay Area. 

However, the agency said that many of the reservoirs are near historic lows. For example, the Shasta Reservoir, located about 200 miles north of the Bay Area, is at 31% capacity. 

“If drought conditions extend into 2023, Reclamation will find it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to meet all the competing needs of the Central Valley Project without beginning the implementation of additional and more severe water conservation actions,” the agency said. 

The western U.S. is going through one of the driest decades in the 1,200 years, which has been precipitated by record temperatures and low precipitation. 

The Reclamation Bureau said it will be announcing water supply allocations for the Central Valley in February.