Snow and rain keep putting the hurt on California’s weakening drought, which now encompasses less than half the state for the first time in four years.
This week, 53 percent of the state is out of drought and only 11 percent remains in “severe” to “extreme” conditions — with more rain and snow expected in the region today and Saturday.
“Extreme” drought conditions linger in a sliver of northwest Los Angeles County and parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, according to this week’s U.S. Drought Monitor.
Southern California made other significant gains. The “severe” drought gripping half the region has shrunk to portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Diego and Imperial counties, and the rest of Santa Barbara County.
Meanwhile, Riverside and Orange counties are now experiencing nothing worse than moderate drought.
California’s “abundant” rain and snow over several months are paying off, said Reno-based Western Regional Climate Center scientist David Simeral.
“These series of storms over the past 90 days have definitely impacted the state overall in terms of improving soil moisture levels and surface water flows, which fill our reservoirs with water,” he said.
The Sierra Nevada snowpack water content now measures 179 percent of normal, or 126 percent of the April 1 average.
Since October, precipitation that’s 4 to 8 inches above normal has fallen in Orange County, Los Angeles County’s southern three-quarters, Riverside County’s western third and San Bernardino County’s southwest corner, said Simeral.
He produced the country’s Feb. 7 drought assessment put out by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Drought Mitigation Center.
The assessment is based on a range of indicators including the Palmer Drought Severity Index, soil moisture, precipitation, stream flow activity and, in California’s Sierra and farther north, snowpack water content.
The last time less than half of California was plagued by drought was April 16, 2013, when 48.39 percent was in drought. That rose to 63 percent by April 23, Simeral said.
The waning drought is “fantastic,” said Western Municipal Water District Director of Water Resources Tim Barr.
The state Water Resources department has agreed to supply state water project contractors, who buy Northern California water and sell it to customers, with 60 percent of requested amounts, which is the total they got for the past three years, Barr said.
Like other suppliers, Western Municipal officials think the state is out of a drought emergency and want mandatory water savings requirements ended — as many told the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday before the board extended an emergency conservation regulation for 270 days.
Suppliers encourage users to save water through pricing. The board shouldn’t require suppliers to enforce the regulation’s bans on such things as landscape runoff, Barr said.
“I think it’s up to every local supplier to determine whether they can meet the needs of their customers’ demand,” he said.
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