Drought ravages California's reservoirs ahead of hot summer

[dalton99a]

https://apnews.com/article/california-droughts-government-and-politics-science-business-76709d5854394905e0f46880ed6dab9c

Drought ravages California’s reservoirs ahead of hot summer
By ADAM BEAM

OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nation’s crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires.

But now the mighty lake — a linchpin in a system of aqueducts and reservoirs in the arid U.S. West that makes California possible — is shrinking with surprising speed amid a severe drought, with state officials predicting it will reach a record low later this summer.

While droughts are common in California, this year’s is much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly from the reservoirs and the sparse Sierra Nevada snowpack that feeds them. The state’s more than 1,500 reservoirs are 50% lower than they should be this time of year, according to Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis.

And everyone needs the water to run hydroelectric power plants that supply much of the state’s energy.

If Lake Oroville falls below 640 feet (195 meters) — which it could do by late August — state officials would shut down a major power plant for just the second time ever because of low water levels, straining the electrical grid during the peak demand of the hottest part of the summer.


Dry banks rise above water in Lake Oroville on Sunday, May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif. At left are trees scorched in the 2020 North Complex Fire. At the time of this photo, the reservoir was at 39% of capacity and 46% of its historical average. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)


A buoy sits on dry land that had been under water, at a drought-stricken Lake Mendocino, currently at 29% of it normal capacity, in Ukiah, Calif., on Sunday, May 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson)


A deserted boat launch ramp sits far from receded waters at the drought-stricken Folsom Lake in Granite Bay, Calif., Saturday, May 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Josh Edelson)

[ancianita]

1. It's bad. It looks as if California is making enough water for people but not their surroundings.

Looks like this is where its budget surplus should go. Not to mention that Repub senators can see infrastructure problems slapping them upside the collective head.


Currently ...





Then there are ...

[dalton99a]

2. +1. Great info

Thanks!