After being soaked by an onslaught of storms that have flooded towns, saturated fields and dropped a near-record snowfall, Californians are getting relief from a host of drought restrictions that were imposed last year during a historic dry spell.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — After being soaked by an onslaught of storms that have flooded towns, saturated fields and heaped the Sierra Nevada with a near-record snowpack, Californians are getting relief from a host of drought restrictions that were imposed last year during a historic dry spell.
The past three years have been the driest in recorded history in California. Last spring, state water officials reported that California’s largest reservoirs were at half of their historical averages and that the snowpack was at just 14% of average. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the government’s official drought-tracking service, more than 90% of the state was in severe or extreme drought.
Although the storms have been destructive for parts of the state, the governor credited the wet winter with easing the painful drought. Also key, he said, were conservation measures that the state has taken over the past few years to boost water storage, increase supplies and upgrade flood-control infrastructure.As the drought worsened, Newsom has appealed to residents to voluntarily cut 15% of their water usage.
Newsom also ended a requirement that water agencies impose measures intended to cut 20% of consumption. Anticipating the change, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California had already lifted mandatory restrictions for some 7 million people, which could allow some residents to water their yards more than twice a week.
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