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