[Water_news] 2. DWR'S CALIFORNIA WATER NEWS: SUPPLY - 7/1/08

Department of Water Resources

California Water News

A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment 

 

July 1, 2008

 

2. Supply –

 

L.A. has fourth-driest spring ever

The L.A Daily News- 6/30/08

 

Ranchers forced to sell herds because of drought

Associated Press– 7/1/08

 

Editorial

Extra dry: New weather year starts with bad combination: dry hills, fireworks

Santa Rosa Press Democrat- 7/1/08

 

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L.A. has fourth-driest spring ever

The L.A Daily News- 6/30/08

By Dana Bartholomew, Staff Writer

Los Angeles enters the record books today with the fourth-driest spring ever, meteorologists announced Monday.

 

The weather year ended Monday with 13.53 inches of rain for downtown Los Angeles, or 89 percent of normal. But from March 1 through June 30, a scant 0.16 of an inch of rain fell during what is normally the peak of Southern California's rain season.

 

"This was the fourth-driest spring in history," said Bill Patzert, climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Ca ada Flintridge. "Man, it's hot out there. My gardenias are brown, wilting, strangling with thirst."

 

The National Weather Service confirmed the historically dry spring but said final statistics on the weather year from July 1 through June 30 would not be released until today.

 

The driest springs on record in 1997, 1934 and 1972, respectively, were followed by winter deluges of between 25 and 31 inches, Patzert said.

 

But a long-term pattern of Pacific Ocean temperatures indicates another drier-than-normal winter, he said. The average rainfall for downtown Los Angeles is 15.14 inches.

 

The Golden State, now in an official drought, experienced its driest spring in 88 years, which helped fuel as many as 1,400 wildfires in Northern California, many of them still burning.

 

The dry season has also created tinderbox conditions throughout the Southland.

 

"All this dryness and lack of rainfall is Mother Nature's scorched-earth policy," Patzert said. "The dry spring has set us up for a potentially incendiary summer."#

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_9748907

 

 

 

Ranchers forced to sell herds because of drought

Associated Press– 7/1/08

 

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Drought-ravaged pastureland is forcing Central California ranchers to sell cattle and sheep herds.

 

A U.S. Department of Agriculture report says conditions on California rangelands are the worst in the nation. About 97 percent of the state
s pastures are in poor or very poor condition.

 

It's forcing ranches to buy expensive feed for their herds, move them elsewhere or, in some cases, sell entire herds. Similar conditions last year forced stockmen to sell off their herds.

 

Cambria rancher Joy Fitzhugh says her family was forced to sell their calves a month early and reduce the herd by 15 percent because of drought conditions.#

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20080701-0532-ca-cencoast-droughtpastureland.html

 

 

 

Editorial

Extra dry: New weather year starts with bad combination: dry hills, fireworks

Santa Rosa Press Democrat- 7/1/08

The books are now closed on the 2007-08 weather year, but it's not one that will be easily filed away and forgotten.

 

In all likelihood, Sonoma County will be dealing with the past dry season for months to come through increased water conservation and fire suppression. If we're not particularly diligent in the coming week, some impacts could be visible for years.

 

Overall, Santa Rosa finished the rainfall year, which officially ended on Monday, with 24.03 inches, nearly 7 inches less than its 30-year rainfall average. It's also 3.42 inches more than the total from the year before. But in the grand scheme of things, the difference is hardly a trickle.

 

What's hard to believe is that just six months ago, Santa Rosa's rainfall was 3 inches above normal, thanks to healthy downpours in October, December and January. But then all hopes for a good water year shriveled up as Sonoma County experienced the driest spring on record.

 

As Staff Writer Bob Norberg reported on Monday, the lack of rain has left Lake Mendocino, once again, in a bad place, with not enough water for salmon. As it did last year, the Sonoma County Water Agency is already asking customers to scale back water usage by 15 percent.

 

If this weather pattern holds, North Bay residents can expect these reductions to become more of the norm than the exception, which will necessitate more dramatic, and less voluntary, changes in our water-use practices. Consumers would be wise to start making permanent adjustments now.

 

Meanwhile, the extra dry spring also has left the hills prone to wildfires, as demonstrated in recent days. At last count, there were still 123 fires burning in Mendocino County alone. Around the state, the fires numbered more than 1,400.

 

To make matters worse, the new weather year starts this week with a bad combination -- dry hills, winds and firework sales.

 

Although only a handful of North Bay communities still allow the sale of "safe and sane" fireworks, conditions are critical enough to make everyone more nervous than usual.

 

It's questionable whether it's either safe or sane to allow fireworks sales anywhere in these conditions. But as long as communities such as Petaluma, Rohnert Park and Sebastopol still allow them, it's in everyone's best interests to ensure they're used correctly -- and leave no lasting impressions on our tinderbox landscape.#

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20080701/OPINION/807010312/1043/OPINION03&title=PD_Editorial__Extra_dry