The California Water Board has issued notices to all public water systems to prepare for drought impacts statewide.
The notices were issued before Colusa County announced Tuesday that six or more residential wells have already dried up, mostly in the Arbuckle and College City area. Glenn County is dealing with 30 or more wells that have gone dry in the Orland area.
Colusa County Assistant Sheriff Michael Bradwell said the last time Colusa County trucked water to residents whose wells went dry during drought, it was in late September and October.
” Were already seeing this in the beginning of the summer,” Bradwell said.
The Colusa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declared a local drought emergency, authorizing the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services to anticipate the Colusa County Emergency Household Drinking Water Plan will be enacted to ensure water delivery to those who have experienced depleted water supply.
The plan would allow the OES to activate the Household Water Tank Program to support property owners who have domestic wells impacted by drought.
Meanwhile, the state has directed municipal and rural water districts to evaluate their own water supply, including groundwater levels, well yields, and well-pumping capacities.
The Water Board also recommended public water providers to monitor and record water levels in their systems storage tanks during various high-demand periods of the day.
The notices were sent to Colusa County, Williams, and Colusa on June 8, after the state declared a statewide drought emergency from a second consecutive dry year.
” The first six months of water year 2021 rank as the fourth driest on record,” the notice states. ” With warm temperatures and extended dry conditions, melting Sierra Nevada snow is soaking into parched ground rather than running into reservoirs. On some streams, runoff is lower now than during the critically dry year of 2014-15.
Due to drought conditions impacting domestic wells in the southern part of the county, Arbuckle Parks and Recreation decided to reduce swimming pool hours by closing on the weekend in an effort to conserve water.
Local and state officials said the current drought conditions could also result in cities having reduced yield from ground and/or surface water supply sources, challenges with water quality, and difficulties in meeting normal system demands, resulting in water shortages or low pressure during peak demand periods, especially if the drought continues into next year.
According to the US Drought Monitor, as of June 17, most of California is listed as having extreme drought conditions (eastern and central California, and along the coast from San Mateo County to Los Angeles County). Drought conditions are far worse in Northern California, from Shasta to San Joaquin, and along the coast from southern Mendocino County to Alameda, with Colusa, Glenn, Tehama, Butte, Yolo, Sutter, Sacramento listed as having exceptional drought conditions.
No California county is listed as having zero drought conditions, or even conditions considered abnormally dry. Only three counties (San Diego and Imperial counties in Southern California, and Del Norte on the Oregon border, have moderate drought conditions).
According to the drought monitor, about 25 percent of the entire western United States is listed as in exceptional drought (the most severe category) and is suffering the worst drought conditions in 20 years.
Gov. Gavin Newsom so far has refused to order mandatory cutbacks, unlike his predecessor Jerry Brown, who called for cities and towns to reduce water consumption by 25 percent in 2015. However, the state water board, in its June 8 notice to public water systems, urged all public water agencies to create a contingency plan for possible water shortages.
The state has also urged all public water providers to raise awareness of the crisis and encourage voluntary water conservation.
Residents can reduce water usage by not over-watering lawns and using a shutoff nozzle when washing vehicles.
The water board asks residents to also avoid hosing down driveways and sidewalks, take shorter showers, turn water off when brushing teeth, fix leaks, and to reuse household water to irrigate gardens and plants.
For more information, visit the new water conservation portal at waterboards.ca.gov. –