Gov. Newsom Declares Drought Emergency In 2 California Counties

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom — standing in the barren, dried-up bed of Lake Mendocino — declared a regional drought emergency in Sonoma and Mendocino counties Wednesday.

The executive order, signed and stamped Wednesday afternoon, will bring resources and aid to the two counties. But Newsom said the state won't enforce water conservation measures.

Reservoirs within the Russian River watershed in Sonoma and Mendocino counties are at a record low after two bone-dry years, officials said Wednesday. Lake Mendocino is at 43 percent of its water capacity. Neighboring Lake Sonoma is at 62 percent.

"I'm standing 40 feet underwater, or should be standing 40 feet underwater," Newsom said.

The governor's proclamation will direct the State Water Board to modify requirements for reservoir releases and could allow the state agency to reduce the volume of water farmers and others can draw from the rivers.

Newsom said that climate change is a large contributor to the drought crisis in California.

"We recognize ... the world that existed a century ago no longer persists and exists today," he said. "The hots are getting hotter. The dries are getting drier. ... As a consequence, we need to disenthrall ourselves with the old ways of managing water supply and distribution."

Several local and state officials joined Newsom in the dried lake bed Wednesday, including Grant Davis, general manager of Sonoma Water.

"As you can see, a historic drought is here. ... As a result of a lack of rain, our region’s two primary reservoirs are at historically low water storage levels," Davis said. "With no additional rain, and continued consumption from water users downstream, we anticipate the very real possibility of not being able to release water from this reservoir by fall."

Where I’m standing I should be 40 ft under the water of Lake Mendocino.

Instead--I’m on dry, cracked earth. That’s climate change.

Today I declared a drought conditions state of emergency in Mendocino & Sonoma to immediately increase drought resilience. https://t.co/oUOQtd8bVr pic.twitter.com/v3BClCH7K3
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) April 21, 2021

Ukiah recorded only 12.2 inches of rainfall this year. On average, it receives 37 inches per year, Davis said.

"Lake Mendocino is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to California's drought," said state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg). "The alarm is sounding, and it couldn't be louder."

McGuire added that he's currently working with the Legislature to propose a $2 billion effort to curb the drought.

Newsom’s state of emergency proclamation detailed "drought or near-drought throughout many portions of the State," but identified the Russian River watershed and Klamath Basin as extremely dry and facing "water supply and ecosystem challenges."

The order lessens or postpones the chances Newsom will have to declare a statewide drought anytime soon. But the governor said he wouldn't hesitate to declare a more widespread emergency by the summer if necessary.

"I don't envision anything in the abstract," he said. "But we plan for everything. ... I anticipate being strategic and targeted in terms of the formal emergency declarations as needed. We won't wait."

The governor has been reluctant to declare a statewide emergency, even as he pointed out that the state is in year two of drought conditions. Some believe this is due to political pressure: The governor faces a recall election, and imposing water conservation mandates on top of a year of tough coronavirus restrictions could put off voters.

It was during a two-year drought that then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013 announced similar efforts to the ones Newsom made Wednesday, Newsom said. California's last official drought ended in 2016.

"We've barely been out of those drought conditions," Newsom said. "And here we are entering back into these drought conditions as the governor did in 2013."

California's record 2020 fire season came up several times during Wednesday's meeting as the state begins to prepare for the next fire season. "We're gearing up for a hell of a fire season, which will be made worse by record low moisture levels," McGuire said.

Much of the state faces "severe" and "extreme" drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor.

"Here we are in Mendocino and Sonoma counties, where things are very, very acute," said Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. "If you're in a different part of the state, you probably need to know that this one day will happen to you. We're all Californians here, and we all need to be doing our part when we have such widespread conditions."