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July 24, 2015 CapitalPress.com CALIFORNIA IN CRISIS Legend Storage dam National park Lake River Klamath River Basin CRATER LAKE NAT’L PARK Rog u e R iv e r Dams slated for removal Medford OREGON State suffers fourth year of extreme drought Klamath Lake Klamath Falls Crescent City 1 ath Riv er Scot t he water situation is dire in the nation’s most productive agricul- tural state. With $43 billion in produc- tion each year, the state’s farmers grow much of the nation’s food. Yet without enough water, farmers have been scrambling to switch to less- thirsty crops or to leave fields fallow Goose Lake o m Kl Sa l am River n Ri Eureka ve r P it Rive r ri n i ork T S. F Trinity Lake Trinity Dam Shasta Lake Tr i n ity Riv er Numbered text corresponds with button locations (see map). Shasta Dam Redding ve Ri Sacramento r ve Ri el r 1 Eagle Lake LASSEN VOLCANIC NAT’L PARK ty E r Rive M. Klamath Basin — Water was a contentious issue in the Klamath Basin long before today’s drought conditions struck. More than 10 years ago a decision by federal agencies to allocate most of the usable water from the Upper Klamath Lake to in-stream fisheries created a dire situation for hundreds of farming operations there. Today, a diverse group of stakeholders has united to resolve this crisis with the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, a comprehensive plan intended to restore fish and habitat while enhancing the Basin’s rural economies. Included in the plan is an initiative to remove four of the Basin’s dams. Honey Lake Lake Almanor Oroville Dam R eather iver rk F Fo 2 Ri v er Carson City Bea r Folsom Dam Lake Tahoe Coast of Carlsbad — A $1 billion desalina- tion plant will provide 50 million gallons of fresh water a day to 120,000 households, or about 7 to 10 percent of San Diego County. Water bills are expected to rise $5 to $7 a month after the plant’s completion later this year. Environmentalists opposed the plan, saying seawater intake pipes kill millions of fish and other marine wildlife annually. Napa River ve us R i Stanisla Toulumne Mono Lake YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK New Melones Dam 1,300 feet (elevation) 1,214.3 July 13: 1,075.1 feet 1,100 Modesto ver d Ri ce Mer Sa n San Luis Res. San Luis Dam CALIFORNIA Ri v Millerton Dam e r 2 Jan. 2015 DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK ni a lifor Ca r Rive as Las Vegas Dam Kern Colorado R iv uct ued Aq Isabella Lake r R i ve Bakersfield er s A Los Padres National Forest — The drought has been at least a partial factor in the death of 12.5 million trees across California, according to the U.S. Forest Service. After surveying more than 44 million acres across the state, the agency says the tree mortality rate has roughly doubled, with 909,000 acres showing elevated death rates. i Kin g s R LOS PADRES NAT’L FOR. 900 Jan. 2000 KINGS CANYON/ SEQUOIA NAT’L PARKS r Fresno Source: Bureau of Reclamation Pine Flat Dam Pine Flat Lake lin Sa 5 Oakland San Francisco ve 6 uin aq Jo San Francisco — Another 11 senior water right-owners will see their fields go dry after curtailment orders were issued by the City of San Francisco, which says there is not enough water left in the Tuolumne River to support both the oldest water right-holders and in-stream uses. r 6 Lake Mead at Hoover Dam Millions of Southern Californians rely on Colorado River water stored in Lake Mead. However, 14 years of low runoff from below- average snowpack has left its waters at their lowest level in more than 40 years. Surface water elevation above mean sea level: 3 NEVADA Folsom Res. Sacramento Fresno — Californians’ water usage plunged in May, dropping 4 percent lower than the 25 percent municipal water reduction mandated by Gov. Jerry Brown. The biggest savings came from cutbacks in outdoor watering and landscaping, which account for about half of all residential water usage. Overall, only 20 percent of water consumption is produced in cities. Reno Lake Orovile Clear Lake Pacific Ocean until the rains return. In the mean- time, they have reduced their depen- dence on surface water from rivers and streams and switched to wells that tap the state’s aquifers. After four years of drought, though, everyone would agree that the end cannot come soon enough. q uedu ct An ge le 4 Los Angeles — The City of Los Angeles is paying residents $1.75 a square foot to dig up their water- guzzling sod lawns and replace them with drought- resistant gardens and other landscaping. The $450 million program is converting about 5,000 lawns a month, and homeowners can collect up to $6,000. Lo 5 LOS PADRES NATIONAL FOREST 4 Pasadena Los Angeles Colo r a do San Bernardino JOSHUA TREE NAT’L PARK Trinity Lake Shasta Lake Total capacity: 2.5 million acre-feet Historical avg.: 67% full Total capacity: 4.6 million acre-feet Historical avg.: 54% full Salton Sea 3 Carlsbad 889,822: 36% full 2.1 million: 46% full N Current storage (acre-feet) Remaining capacity (acre-feet) 0 10 20 Lake Oroville Folsom Lake New Melones Lake Total capacity: 3.5 million acre-feet Historical avg.: 54% full Total capacity: 977,000 acre-feet Historical avg.: 32% full Total capacity: 2.4 million acre-feet Historical avg.: 76% full 378,620 San Luis Reservoir Total capacity: 2 million acre-feet Historical avg.: 39% full 376,373: 39% full 40 BAJA CALIF. Sources: California Dept. of Water Resources; U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; California Dept. of Water Resources; Capital Press research SONORA Research by Zane Sparling; Illustration by Alan Kenaga/Capital Press California drought conditions (As of July 7) Millerton Lake Pine Flat Lake Total capacity: 520,500 acre-feet Historical avg.: 61% full Total capacity: 1 million acre-feet Historical avg.: 37% full 185,044: 36% full ARIZ. 16% full 220,224 677,979: 33% full e San Diego Miles 1.3 million: 37% full du c t Aque r Select California reservoir levels * MOJAVE NATIONAL PRESERVE s Colorado Riv REDWOOD NAT’L PARK Lower Klamath Lake T 22% full Legend Source: National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln D3-Drought (extreme) D0-Abnormally dry D1-Drought (moderate) D4-Drought (exceptional) D2-Drought (severe) Intensity of drought by percent area affected Date Current 3 mo. ago 1 yr. ago *As of July 12. Historical average capacities are for January. Population affected by drought: 37 million None 0.1% 0.2 0 D0-4 99.9 99.8 100 D1-4 98.7 98.1 100 D2-4 94.6 93.4 100 D3-4 71.1 66.6 79 D4 46.7 44.3 36.5 3