Drought — Mountains Southwestern Shasta County To Western Colusa County, California

2021-09-01 to 2021-09-30 · Mountains Southwestern Shasta County To Western Colusa County, California

Event narrative

For the month of September, the U.S. Drought Monitor continued exceptional drought (D4) for roughly half of zone 63, which covers western Tehama, Glenn, and Colusa counties, and kept all of the remaining parts of the Zone 63 in extreme drought (D3). They continue to mention drought impacts including but not limited too: agriculture, water supplies, recreation, and ecosystems. All of zone 63 is in the official drought emergency proclamation. The countywide drought emergency declared by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors in June continues, including the water conservation program. On July 1st, fire restrictions on public lands were put in place until further notice. Glenn County bottled water distribution program that started on July 12th for residents impacted by dry wells continues. The 45-day moratorium on agricultural well drilling in Glenn County that started on July 21st continues. An emergency resolution made on July 14th by the Tehama County Board of Supervisors continues that allows residents with dry wells to purchase water directly from the county. Ranchers also reported a 10-25% reduction in herds due to feed shortages. August 11th DWR, in coordination with the State Water Resources Control Board, directed $25 million to 10 small water systems including Shasta County. The funds will support a range of projects including emergency water system repairs, infrastructure such as new wells and water storage tanks, and improvements to intakes and distribution systems. Effective on August 19, the State Water Resources Control Board released an 'emergency curtailment' order that would deprive thousands of farmers of the use of rivers and streams in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed.

Wider weather episode

Northern California typically experiences a wet season, October through May, and a dry season May through September. Last year's water year, October 2019 through September 2020, was one of the driest on records. This likely contributed to the U.S. Drought Monitor's decision to place portions of interior northern California into extreme drought on September 29, 2020. Portions of Shasta, Tehama, Butte, Glenn, Colusa, Yolo, Solano, Yuba, Nevada, and Sacramento counties remain in extreme drought. The rest of interior northern California was placed into severe drought (D2) on December 8; however, the state of California has not announced that these locations are in drought. On 4/21/2021 the Biden-Harris administration announced the formation of an Interagency Working Group to address worsening drought conditions in the West. On 5/10/2021 Governor Gavin Newsom significantly expanded his April 21 drought emergency proclamation to include Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed counties where accelerated action is needed to protect public health, safety and the environment. In total, 41 counties are now under a drought state of emergency, representing 30 percent of the state's population. By late June more wildlife was observed in urban interfaces than normal, notably bears and rattlesnakes, in search of wetter, cooler conditions. Widespread water theft has also been reported. On July 8th, the Governor of California asked for all Californian's including businesses, to voluntarily reduce water usage by 15%. On August 10th DWR reported the drought has led to a 123% increase in the number of acres burned this year, compared to 2020. DWR also reported that the low reservoir water levels have also affected energy supplies, agriculture, communities and state recreation parks.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 987048. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.