Potential continuing drought has officials on edge
By Matt Weiser
State water officials are urging residents and local water agencies to begin preparing for the possibility that 2014 could be a third dry year.
The California Department of Water Resources issued the cautionary statement last week partly because the state will head into winter with hardly any surplus water in its reservoirs as a cushion against drought. That is because the cushion is being drained off by the dry year now under way.
Problems could be especially acute for small water systems that rely on groundwater, said Jeanine Jones, DWR interstate resources manager.
“Smaller systems don’t have a lot of staff capacity, so often they don’t even do such basic things as regularly monitor groundwater levels or maintain their wells,” Jones said.