US warns California city that water supply may be cut off in fourth dry year

On Monday, federal water managers warned California cities and industrial users receiving water from the Central Valley Project to prepare for a fourth year of drought and a “very limited water supply” in 2023. did.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the Department of the Interior’s agency that oversees water resource management, said drought conditions persisted in California despite storms earlier this month and warned of looming water conservation measures.

“If drought conditions continue into 2023, recycling will find it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to meet all the competing needs of the Central Valley project.” said in a statement.

According to the agency, the reservoirs it oversees in the state are near historic lows, irrigating more than 3 million acres of land in central California and serving major cities in the Sacramento metropolitan area and the San Francisco Bay Area. We supply water to the center. The project will supply water to approximately 2.5 million people annually.

California’s largest reservoir, the Shasta Reservoir, located about 200 miles north of the Bay Area, is currently at 31 percent capacity, the agency said.

California gets most of the water during the winter when storms bring snow to the mountains. But record temperatures and low rainfall are forcing California and other states to contend with a future of reduced water supplies.

Massive drought in western US produced region’s driest 20 years in at least 1,200 years And the conditions can last for years. Researchers estimate that 42% of drought severity is due to human-induced climate change.

Earlier this year, California water authorities Significantly Reduce State Water Project Allocations For a water authority serving about 27 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland, it’s 15% to 5% of normal.

The Reclamation Authority said it will announce the first water quotas for the Central Valley project in February.