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California Drought

California is experiencing the worst drought in its history, and the effects are being felt nationwide. Thus water issues have taken center stage in much of our reporting and the nation's.As the New York Times says, "Water has long been a precious resource in California, the subject of battles pitting farmer against city-dweller and northern communities against southern ones; books and movies have been made about its scarcity and plunder. Water is central to the state’s identity and economy, and a symbol of how wealth and ingenuity have tamed nature ..."As we continue through a fourth year of extreme drought conditions, you'll find all of our reporting on the related issues (and that of NPR and other member stations) in this centralized place.

North Valley Water Forum Focuses On Drought Conditions

North State Public Radio

Published May 1, 2015 at 9:07 AM PDT

Nearly 200 farmers, local water agency workers and area citizens met at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning Thursday to talk current and future drought conditions in the North State’s valley.

The 2015 Northern Sacramento Valley Water Dialogue covered a large list of topics including agriculture drought management practices, how to secure additional water supplies under surface-water cuts and an overview of last year’s drought impacts on the Northern Sacramento Valley.

The biggest news at the meeting was the valley’s current local groundwater conditions. Bill Ehorn, senior engineering geologist with the Groundwater Section of the Department of Water Resources, led the discussion. He unveiled valley groundwater level monitoring results for spring 2015.

The results showed groundwater levels in the valley are on the decline — with wells of all depths dropping an average of about 2 feet since 2014. Ehorn said a few inches of subsidence has been detected in Yolo County. A few inches of subsidence is also possible in two areas in Glenn County. But, he says, those results have not yet been confirmed. Ehorn says DWR will be double-checking the areas in Glenn County soon. More specific county groundwater results should be available to the public in the next few weeks.

Thursday’s meeting culminated with information on how to implement and learn more about the new Sustainable Groundwater Management Act — as well as a sense that continued teamwork between all water stakeholders is what’s in store for the future.