California officials are reviving a long-unused water bank program to help ensure the thirsty southern part of the state has alternative supplies if winter snow and rain don’t replenish natural reservoirs.
Under the program, last used in 1992, the state can buy back water allocations from farmers in the Sacramento Valley who don’t need their supplies, then sell that water to agencies around Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and other dry regions.
“We are in the midst of a drought right now and California potentially faces another dry year in 2009,” said Lester Snow, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “It’s clear that we must find solutions to our water crisis. A water bank provides a valuable tool to help provide water to communities who need it most. This is just one of the many ways the state is working to address the drought.”
California is currently in a drought emergency, facing its fourth driest year on record. Many of its reservoirs are severely low. Lake Shasta, for example, is at 34 percent capacity and San Luis Lake is at 13 percent. State officials say it’s the “most significant water crisis” in California history, and warn that some ecosystems — such as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta — are at risk of collapse. The drought is hitting the state’s agricultural economy hard, forcing farmers in some regions to leave land unplanted or to pull up citrus trees.
Worse yet, forecasters are expecting 2009 to be another dry year.
State officials are taking a number of steps to help conserve water supplies and reduce consumption. One initiative, the 20×2020 Agency Team, aims to achieve a statewide 20 percent reduction in per capita water consumption by the year 2020.
To learn how you can reduce your own “water footprint,” no matter where you live, check out California’s online guide to water conservation (PDF).
