Governor Requests Voluntary 15 Percent Water Reduction

Sacramento, CA–The California Governor has requested both people and businesses in the state of California to voluntarily cut back water usage by 15% percent. This would be a voluntary cut with hopes that the state could avoid future mandatory restrictions. This request comes right before temperatures are expected to be hot again in many parts of California with triple digits expected in the Motherlode and a high heat advisory in place.

The state of California’s reservoirs is already dire with Lake Oroville in Northern California at 30% capacity which has officials concerned that they might have to shut down the hydroelectric plant later this year. Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources explained

“What we didn’t understand was we had this deepening and intensifying drought underground, It really is the speed at which the compounding effects of climate change in soil moisture and ambient temperatures have made this drought a very different kind of drought. It’s no longer a slow-moving train wreck.”

Newsom also added nine additional counties to an emergency drought proclamation, that now covers 50 of the state’s 58 counties and 42% of the state’s population. The most recently added counties are Inyo, Marin, Mono, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.