North Coast leaders call for ‘all hands on deck effort’ to combat drought

Humboldt County added to list of counties in drought conditions

May 10, 2021

As California’s water supply continues to dwindle and drought conditions worsen, state lawmakers are working with scientists and communities across the state to seek solutions ahead of a potentially catastrophic fire season this summer.

More than a dozen North Coast leaders joined U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman’s (D-San Rafael) emergency drought summit Monday to discuss declining conditions throughout the region. The discussion focused on funding needs for water supply, agriculture and fish as well as collaborative approaches.

“I think we all know it’s really bad,” Huffman said. “That’s why we were the first place in the state of California that the governor singled out for this kind of an emergency declaration but we do need to, I think, have a very clear sense of the most critical needs that we’re going to face and to do our best to try to connect those needs with the resources at the local, state and federal level that can help folks get through what’s going to be a tough, tough summer.”

State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) noted that Monday’s discussion “couldn’t come at a more critical time for the North Coast.”

“While California’s climate has always been variable, the last couple of decades have been some of the hottest on record here in the Golden State,” McGuire said. “We know that the climate crisis is making droughts here in California more intense. As we look at the year in front of us in 2021, watersheds across the state are beyond parched, snowpack now is down to 8% of average and stream flows are dramatically reduced due to the extremely dry conditions in our upper watersheds.”

This means the state is short on approximately 500,000 acre-feet of storage compared to earlier projections, McGuire said.

“Endangered species, such as the Chinook on the Klamath River, are in real jeopardy due to the historic dry conditions, especially in the upper watershed in Oregon which spills down into the Golden State,” he said. “It’s an all-hands-on-deck effort. … You shouldn’t be surprised to see other counties added to the list in the coming days.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday the expansion of his April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include the Klamath River as well as Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed counties.

The amended proclamation calls on the State Water Board to modify requirements for reservoir releases and “diversion limitations to conserve water upstream later in the year to maintain water supply,” and to protect cold water pools for salmon and steelhead, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

“The state of emergency also enables flexibilities in regulatory requirements and procurement processes to mitigate drought impacts and directs state water officials to expedite the review and processing of voluntary transfers of water from one water right holder to another, enabling available water to flow where it is needed most,” the statement said.

Newsom’s proclamation now encapsulates 41 of the state’s 58 counties representing 30% of the state’s population. Humboldt County was added to the list on Monday.

California’s $3.4 billion drought relief package cleared the state Senate last month. The package would allocate funds to lower-income communities across the state to assist with water efficiency needs, emergency groundwater assistance for farmers and ranchers, water infrastructure projects, in addition to rainwater and stormwater capture projects.

“This will help usher in local drought relief projects in water districts up and down California,” McGuire said. “We need this budget action to respond to this pending crisis and I promise by all of us working together, we’re going to come out stronger.”

Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) praised Newsom’s emergency drought proclamation and said it will empower communities across the state to access additional funding to become more resilient for years to come.

“This drought is hitting people hard and creating a lot of anxiety. Our district has faced some pretty significant challenges in recent years and this one just feels like another heavy lift,” Wood said. “… I’m grateful that Gov. Newsom took early steps to proclaim a drought emergency for the Russian River watershed and Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Many of us were with him that day standing in the middle of a parched dry lake bed as he signed the emergency declaration in an area that should have normally been under 40 feet of water.”

Rep. Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) underscored the importance of working with local communities to mitigate drought.

“If it doesn’t rain, we don’t have water, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps that we can take to help mitigate it,” Thompson said.

Grant Davis, Sonoma County Water Agency general manager, said securing federal funding will be essential in mitigating another year of drought, as well as local collaboration.

“I believe we should follow the (Natural Resources Conservation Service) Department of Agriculture in a presidential declaration would be of assistance right now,” Davis said. “In particular, when we’re looking at innovative projects that are going to recharge groundwater and aquifer storage and recharge projects, a presidential declaration would be something that would be very, very helpful.”

“We certainly don’t know what this fall is going to bring,” Davis added.

Drought relief information can be found at drought.gov.


By:  ISABELLA VANDERHEIDEN
Source: Times Standard