Newsom eases drought restrictions, increases state water deliveries

The series of “atmospheric river” storms that inundated much of the state prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday, March 24, to ease emergency drought restrictions and announce that agencies across California would be receiving dramatically higher State Water Project deliveries.

“The weather whiplash we’ve experienced in the past few months makes it crystal clear that Californians and our water system have to adapt to increasingly extreme swings between drought and flood,” Newsom said in a statement. “As we welcome this relief from the drought, we must remain focused on continuing our all-of-the-above approach to future-proofing California’s water supply.”

Newsom’s announcement means that water agencies will now receive 75% of their requested allotment from the State Water Project. That’s a dramatic from December, when agencies were told to expect only 5% of their requests. The anticipated allotments increased to 30% in January, then to 35% in February.

Newsom’s lifting of emergency drought measures on Friday meant an end to the voluntary 15% water-use-reduction target that was implemented last year, although residents are still urged to continue conserving any way they can. His action also ended the requirement that local water agencies implement “level two” of their drought contingency plans. A state of emergency issued for all 58 counties in the state to facilitate drought response and recovery efforts will remain in place.

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