California to cut water deliveries to cities and farms

[Auggie]

SACRAMENTO (AP) - 10/30/08 - The state said Thursday it would cut water deliveries to their second lowest level ever, prompting warnings of water rationing for cities and less planting by farmers.

The Department of Water Resources announced it will deliver just 15 percent of the amount that local water agencies throughout California request every year. That marks the second lowest projection since the first State Water Project deliveries were made in 1962.

It could force farmers in the Central Valley to fallow fields and cities from the San Francisco Bay area to San Diego to impose mandatory water rationing.

The state's reservoirs are low after two years of dry weather and court-ordered restrictions on water pumping out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This year, water agencies received just 35 percent of the water they requested.

LINK: http://www.kgoradio.com/Article.asp?id=960827&spid=15884

It just started raining in Northern California this afternoon. Start practicing your rain dance routine in hopes of bringing more.

[tularetom]

1. Rain is great - snow is what we need worse

A good solid snowpack will set the stage for a normal water year next summer. Of course it would not hurt for farmers and cities to practice a bit more conservation either, but so much depends on the amount of snow we get later in the winter.

Of course the rain is welcome. I have 40 acres, 2 horses and one bull and I've been hauling hay in since April. It'll be nice to see everything green again, and that just might happen since they are predicting rain through the weekend.

[mackerel]

2. It's going to be a tough 18 months.