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Gov. Gavin Newsom made headlines last week when he declared a drought emergency for our severely dry state — but only in two of California’s 58 counties, Mendocino and Sonoma. Some farmers in the Central Valley and others with water interests had hoped for a statewide edict.
Instead, Newsom said conditions vary so widely a one-size-fits-all approach makes no sense now. In an interview Thursday with The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board, state Water Resources Control Board Chair Joaquin Esquivel, Environmental Protection Secretary Jared Blumenfeld, Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth, Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross, and Fish and Wildlife Director Chuck Bonham offered a strong defense of Newsom’s decision and his water policies in general. And they said the administration will continue to monitor conditions and reevaluate the tricky balancing act between conservation recommendations and requirements. San Diego should be thankful, for now.
Given that Southern California is in far better shape than Northern California — with the massive Metropolitan Water District reporting record reserves — it would be both odd and a tough sell to demand major conservation efforts in our region.
But if news on the water front isn’t dire everywhere in the Golden State, the medium- and long-term picture for the entire state is grim. Since at least 2015, the climate emergency caused by greenhouse gas emissions has some scientists warning that the entire Southwest could be in for a massive mega-drought, with grim implications for both future water supplies and wildfire risks. A 2020 study published in the journal Science argued that the regional mega-drought was already under way.
Has the Newsom administration done enough to meet the moment and prepare for this problem, to combat cyclical droughts and worsening wildfires?
Maybe. In the interview, Nemeth said, “We are on course to make generational changes in water management.” Local water planning agencies have been directed to prepare for droughts as long as seven years, compared to the old standard of three years.
Aides to Newsom also tout the California Water Resilience Portfolio plan that was crafted at the governor’s behest and released last year. The plan emphasizes the need to maintain and diversify water supplies and to protect water sources. It outlines more than 100 ways to keep water systems functioning in extreme conditions across the state, with many ideas specific to certain regions.
As for controlling wildfires, on April 13, Newsom signed a $536 million package that will fund projects to support wildfire suppression, improve forest health, create fuel breaks around communities at risk of catastrophe, and much more.
Yet the state continues to fail to use an easy tool available to it to lower fire risks. As documented in a 2019 report in the Union-Tribune, the state Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire, is reluctant to fine homeowners for failing to comply with creating defensible space free of flammable vegetation around their homes, as they are required to do under state law. Agency inspectors would rather issue toothless warnings.
In a climate emergency, that’s not good enough. Especially given the increased resources now available to Cal Fire, it should incentivize homeowners to help themselves. These problems are here to stay.
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April 24, 2021 at 09:00AM
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Opinion: California drought declaration is a difficult dance - The San Diego Union-Tribune
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