This week, thermometers in southern areas of the state are expected to show temperatures up to 130 ° F in what is considered the first heat wave of the year
Photo: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
For: EFE
Wednesday, October 2
California braces for drought summer with reservoirs at record lows
The state of California is preparing for a new summer of drought, with the snow from the mountains already practically melted since mid-May and some of its largest reservoirs at historic lows. This week, the is expected the first heat wave in the south of the state, with temperatures that will reach even the 120 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas.
The consequences of the lack of water in California have an impact on the entire United States , as the state produces two-thirds of all fruits and nuts grown in the country, as well as large amounts of vegetables and animal products.
This Monday, the California Department of Water Resources (DWRC, for its acronym in English) reported that the Lake Oroville , the second largest reserve in the state or, is only found at 36% of its capacity, which is a historical minimum .
This artificial lake, which is located about 130 miles north of the state capital, Sacramento, was built in 1960 Y provides drinking water to 27 millions of people, in addition to being used for irrigation of more than 200, 000 horticultural hectares.
The reservoir is also usually a destination for tourism and recreation for the inhabitants of northern California, so this Monday the imag in dozens of boats “trapped” in the little water that accumulates in the lower part of the infrastructure.
Like so many other reserves in California, Lake Oroville is nourishes the water that reaches it as it goes melting the snow of the Sierra Nevada , the mountain range that separates the state from neighboring Nevada and that provides water resources to both the large cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as the entire rural center.
This winter, snowfall in the Sierra Nevada was particularly low, and around 1 April (the date on which accumulated snow normally reaches the thickest) stood at only 42 centimeters, which is a 59% of average historical value on that date.
Like snow, the rainfall of rain throughout the winter – the wet season in the state- they have also been well below the usual , with locations such as Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco and San José registering rain levels that are not arrive neither at 54% of normal.
Despite the alarming nature of these figures, it is not a new situation for Californians, who according to official data, have already experienced conditions of “significant” drought in 11 of the last 22 years.
Thus, the restrictions on the use of water as the that this year they are already applying or have announced that several counties are going to apply, and that they range from the prohibition of filling swimming pools to the requirement that restaurants only serve water if the client expressly requests it.
A study published in 2020 in the journal Science concluded that the period of 2000 to 2017 – with a chronic drought – was the second driest in the southwestern US in at least the last 1, 200 years.
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