Drought — Carquinez Strait and Delta, California

2022-05-01 to 2022-05-31 · Carquinez Strait and Delta, California

Event narrative

For the month of May, the U.S. Drought Monitor degraded the eastern portion of Zone 18 to extreme drought (D3) with the remainder of the zone in severe drought (D2). The zone saw drought impacts continue due to the below average precipitation for the water year at around 70-85% of average. The temporary rock wall constructed on the false river in the Delta that was partially taken down in January 2022 to allow fish and boats through began reconstruction to prevent more salt water intrusion. Some of the impacts the region saw included; reduced forage, decreased stock weights, livestock stress, selling of livestock, decrease in water allocation, earlier onset of irrigation, increased reports of dry wells including domestic wells, hauling of water, and plans to fallow large areas of cropland.

Wider weather episode

Interior northern California is still experiencing widespread drought. Impacts from the relatively dry start to the calendar year have started to become evident across interior Northern California. Much of the region has increased the severity of the drought conditions. Many local and regional, as well as state-wide restrictions continue with plans for increased restrictions forthcoming. Agricultural surface water deliveries are already scheduled to be significantly reduced. The state-wide drought declaration by governor Gavin Newsom also continues. Mandatory water restrictions are in place on outdoor water use for all Californians with possible fines to violators. As of the month of May, the Public Affairs Officer at Bureau of Reclamation reported that they anticipate that in the Sacramento Valley alone, over 350,000 acres of farmland will be fallowed. It was reported that agriculture and most of the state's energy development are both water-intensive industries and less water will mean communities across California are going to suffer this year during the drought, it's just a question of how much more they suffer.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1026357. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.