California is suffering from the worst drought in 1,200 years and they are calling for a reduction in water consumption

California is suffering the greatest drought of the last 1200 years and 95% of its territory is at serious risk, an extreme situation generated by an explosive cocktail: climate change, uncontrolled use of water and a crisis in the supply systems.

Families living in this western US state are already suffering the consequences of the drought, and Democratic Party Governor Gavin Newsom asked to reduce the consumption of sanitary water by at least 15%.

In the southern counties, fed by the now rickety Colorado River and home to nearly half of Californians, there are cities where it can only be watered one day a week or none at all.

Furthermore, the agricultural industry is also involved in one of the most important fruit and vegetable regions in the world.

This season has left nearly 200,000 acres fallow, according to the latest report from the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The drought will bring in the Californian agricultural sector as a whole $ 1.2 billion less this year.

Experts, analysts and researchers have agreed to refer to 1977 as California’s driest course of the last century, but the first 6 months of 2022 are marking a new milestone.

Climate change

“Now the cycles of drought and rain are longer due to climate change. We are in the third consecutive year without water, which is why it is so bad,” Samuel Sandoval, professor at the University of California at Davis and collaborator of the Institute , he explained to EFE, of California for water resources.

A view shared by the drought monitoring unit of the University of California (UCLA), from which they underline the importance of the fact that in 2022 it rained 30% less than recommended.

To this we must add that the volumes of snow received by the Sierra Nevada, the mountain range that serves as the backbone of California, have been drastically reduced in recent years.

“Snow takes time to melt, so when it is in this state, it is easier to store water and have it available to carry it to drier places,” explained Sandoval.

According to estimates by the California Department of Water Resources, some of the major reservoirs, such as those at Oroville or New Bullards (both in the northern half), are at most half full.

This drought has also generated severe forest fires in recent years, such as those that alarmed California and other eastern states in the United States last year.

On the other hand, most of the state’s aquifers are in a water deficit situation as well serious risk.

blow to agriculture

Until now, the Mediterranean climate enjoyed by California has allowed it to be an enclave, especially in the Central Valley area, with a very grateful land for growing and planting all kinds of fruits and vegetables such as melons, grapes, onions. , lettuce or tomatoes. .

In fact, 95% of the tomatoes that are processed in the United States for the production of ketchup and other types of sauces come from California.

However, the flagship product of the region is undoubtedly the almond. 83% of these fruits come from the Central Valley and are consumed worldwide, generating an economic impact of $ 9,000 million, according to data from the Almond Board of California.

Due to the drought, no more than 120,000 hectares of almond trees will be planted this year.

Despite this, the government of California felt for the second consecutive year that it did not have enough water to supply farmers from the valley.

And it is that to the context of drought and the degradation of the reservoirs we must add that the State must comply with environmental legislation that obliges it to dedicate 40% of the total water collected in its dams to feed the sea and the various rivers and lakes of the California.

From his farm near the town of Los Baños (Central Valley, California), farmer Joe del Bosque shows his discomfort with the Democratic administration for not providing him with water for irrigation and having to leave hundreds of almond trees to fallow this summer.

“We have to plan the fight against climate change for the long term, but we have to do something to survive now,” the farmer told EFE emphatically.

criticism of the governor

Del Bosque’s position is common throughout the valley, whose crops are mostly guarded by huge anti-Newsom posters demanding that, in this drought situation, he does not pour irrigation water into the sea.

In this sense, Almond Board chairman Richard Waycott told EFE that “there have been years with a lot of rain” in which more water could have been stored and “this drought could have been avoided”.

“We have been warning since 2009, in the rainy years the water was not conserved due to the risk of flooding and the lack of reservoirs,” said Waycott, who insisted on the importance of building new dams for when “the rainy years they will come back. “

Although the farmers are not exempt from criticism, and the people of the cities criticize them for investing in plantations such as almonds or avocados to be economically more profitable, knowing their high water consumption.

Some accusations that Del Bosque wanted to face: “I can not grow wheat or alfalfa if the state does not provide me with water and I have to buy it from private distributors who quintuple the price. It is not feasible”.

In this sense, Mike Wade, executive director of the California Farm Water Coalition, an organization that promotes the relationship between water for agricultural purposes and the food supply, has warned consumers of California fruit and vegetables within and outside the country in an interview with EFE. from the United States.

“They think it’s a question of wanting to make more money, but what is at stake is that one day they might go to the supermarket and have no tomatoes or almonds,” he concluded.

Source: EFE

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