CALIFORNIA'S WATER CRISIS

The combination of increased population, climate changes and aging water infrastructure has left California with dangerously low water reserves.

>>What can I do to help?

Key Water Problems at a Glance*

Thanks to a string of relatively wet years and the fact that water flows whenever the tap is turned on, the state’s water problems are not readily apparent to the public. But many experts  agree the state is facing some of the most significant water challenges seen in the last half-century: 

• The Delta, a key natural estuary and the pathway through which more than 25 million Californians and 2.5 million acres of productive farmland receive their water, is in an ecological crisis that threatens people as well as the environment. 
• California’s water supply has been drastically reduced, impacting people, businesses and farms in Northern, Central and Southern California.  In late August, a federal court cut water supplies from the state’s two largest water delivery systems by up to one-third to protect an endangered fish – potentially the largest court-ordered water supply reduction in California history. 
• California’s population is growing rapidly, but our statewide water storage and delivery system has not been significantly improved in 30 years. 
• Our statewide water reserves are extremely low and would not be able to meet public demand during a major disruption to the state’s water delivery system. 
• Aging Delta levees are at risk of a natural disaster that could cripple water deliveries for an extended period of time.  
• California is facing severe drought conditions, with 2007 ranking as a record dry-year in some regions. If the current drought continues, mandatory water rationing may be imposed in many areas.
• Significantly reduced supplies and growing water uncertainties already are causing some California farmers to fallow prime agricultural lands, hurting one of our state’s most important industries. 
• Climate change is reducing our mountain snow pack – a critical source of natural water storage – and may usher in longer droughts and more severe floods.
   

*Taken from California Water Crisis Fact Sheet; information compiled by Association of California Water Agencies


>>What can I do to help?