Brown today proclaimed an end to the state’s drought, but urged Californians to keep conserving water as we move into the spring and summer months.
“While this season’s storms have lifted us out of the drought, it’s critical that Californians continue to watch their water use,” Brown said. “Drought or no drought, demand for water in California always outstrips supply. Continued conservation is key.”
Today’s announcement follows the fourth snow survey of the season, conducted by the Department of Water Resources (DWR), which found that water content in California’s mountain snowpack is 165 percent of the April 1 full season average.
A majority of the state’s major reservoirs are also above normal storage levels. Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project’s principal reservoir, is 104 percent of average for the date (80 percent of its 3.5 million acre-foot capacity). Lake Shasta north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project’s largest reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, is at 111 percent of average (91 percent of capacity).
DWR estimates it will be able to deliver 70 percent of requested State Water Project (SWP) water this year. The estimate likely will be adjusted upward as hydrologists make adjustments for snowpack and runoff readings.
Given the heavy water inflow from the series of storms that have swept across California, the state’s flood managers are monitoring high river flows and making flood control releases from reservoirs to maintain storage space.
Governor Brown’s Proclamation officially rescinds Executive Order S-06-08, issued on June 4, 2008 and ends the States of Emergency called on June 12, 2008, and on February 27, 2009.
For additional information on California’s water supply, please visit the Department of Water Resources website at: http://www.water.ca.gov/.
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