Winter Rainstorms Largely Lift California out of Drought

By Shawn Raymundo

CALIFORNIA GOT DUNKED ON this winter. That’s, of course, thanks to the dozens of atmospheric rivers that brought a deluge of rains up and down the Golden State.

While this year’s winter storms wreaked havoc for Californians, creating hazardous road conditions with flooded streets and damaging property from landslides, there is a silver lining for the state, which had been battling harsh drought conditions.

Putting the downpour into numbers, more than 78 trillion gallons of water fell on the state between Oct. 1 and the week of March 20, according to a USA Today analysis using data from the National Weather Service.

Assuming all things being equal across California, that amounts to about 30 inches of water covering the state. For further perspective, the national news outlet noted that the 78 trillion gallons of water is enough to fill the Rose Bowl more than 900,000 times.

So, what does all this water mean for California as we pivot to the spring and summer?

For starters, it’s great for the health of California’s ecosystem, as evidenced by the lush greenery and vegetation, explains Angela Jean Rigden, assistant professor of Earth System Science at UC Irvine.

“We see lots of plant growth. Just generally, it’s likely to delay the onset of the fire season,” she says.

She warned, though, that while the fire season may be delayed, all the vegetation and plant material that’s growing is what’s likely to fuel fires in the future.

It’s “kind of counterintuitive,” Rigden says. “We see all this wet vegetation, but when that dries out, we’ll see all this fuel for fires; so, it could lead to more severe fires in the future once it all dries out.”

As for drought conditions, California has seen a stark improvement following the storms.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of March 28, 44.7% of California was under abnormally dry conditions—down from the 83.3% just a month prior. Moderate drought conditions found in 49.1% of California as of Feb. 28 dropped to just 28.1% a month later.

“Orange County is out of it. … In Southern California, the coastal regions are out of the drought,” Rigden notes, citing the Drought Monitor. She adds that “it’s great the rains have definitely alleviated the drought conditions and most of Southern California isn’t in a drought anymore.”

Asked for her prediction on how long this non-drought period would last, Rigden forecasts that California could face another period of drought next year.

“While it’s really wet now, that doesn’t mean it’s going to stay wet for a long time,” she says. “I think it’s important to understand that when thinking about drought, too, we think about what’s on the surface, near surface, soil moisture … but the definition of drought is drier than normal conditions.”

“So, if we consider ground water conditions, we still— ground water systems are still in ‘drought,’ ” she continues. “It’s because it takes a lot of time for the ground water system to replenish.”

The spate of rainstorms has also alleviated water shortage conditions, prompting the governing board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California—the area’s water wholesaler—to lift emergency restrictions on water use for nearly seven million Californians.

Last June, the Metropolitan Water District, which sources water from the Colorado River, via the Colorado River Aqueduct, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers in Northern California, imposed emergency drought restrictions on select communities in Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, setting limits on outdoor watering use to one or two days a week and imposing water budgets on residents.

While the rainstorms allowed the Metropolitan Water District to roll back those restrictions last month, the agency stressed that “storage reserves have been drawn down and significant challenges remain to the region’s other sources of imported water—the Colorado River.”

Dave Rebensdorf, the utilities director for the City of San Clemente, echoed that sentiment.

“That’s the biggest challenge. … The Colorado River is at historic low levels, so we need to see a major rebound on those areas before the Metropolitan Water District is comfortable,” Rebensdorf says, adding: “We’re in a good position for the year or two, but we still have to keep watch of what’s happening at the Colorado River basin.”

In accordance with regional and statewide efforts to curb outdoor water use, the San Clemente City Council last June approved water conservation measures, voting to declare a Water Shortage Level 2 Water Alert.

Under the alert, San Clemente’s water customers saw rate surcharges on both their fixed and variable water rates, and they were instructed to shorten irrigation periods, limiting the times they could water their yards.

Rebensdorf said late last month that the city’s utilities department had been working with the Municipal Water District of Orange County and Metropolitan Water District about rolling back the local restrictions.

“But we want to see what the plan is for San Clemente, and likely we’ll make a recommendation (to the City Council) to go back to either a standard or a Level 1; and (Level) 1 does not have demand management rates.”

Asked what San Clemente residents and everyone else in South Orange County should know about the area’s water resources following the string of heavy rainstorms, Rebensdorf forecasted that the new drought is potentially a few years away.

“So, whatever our customers can conserve today, we can use tomorrow,” he says. “I want to thank our customers for reducing their water use, not only in this drought but previous droughts.”

CHIMNEY SWEEPS, INC

Urgent Care. Whenever. Wherever.

In-person and 24/7 virtual visits available.

For non-life-threatening emergencies, our urgent care centers o er easy appointment scheduling for both in-person and virtual visits. With the ability to check wait times and reserve your place in line or access video visits 24/7 from the comfort of home. Whether it’s Sunday afternoon or 3 a.m., get highquality care no matter when or where. With MemorialCare.

RAIN, WIND, AND FIRE...

“The three menaces to any chimney, fireplace, or stove.”

Every year there are over twenty thousand chimney / fireplace related house fires in the US alone. Losses to homes as a result of chimney fires, leaks, and wind damage exceeds one hundred million dollars annually in the US.

CHIMNEY SWEEPS, INC., one of the leading chimney repair and maintenance companies, is here to help protect you and your home from losses due to structural damage and chimney fires.

Family owned and operated and having been in business for over 30 years, Chimney Sweeps Inc. is a fully licensed and insured chimney contracting company (License # 976438) and they are certified with the National Chimney Sweep Guild and have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

For a limited time, readers of this paper will receive a special discount on a full chimney cleaning and safety inspection package with special attention given to chimney water intrusion points in preparation for the wet & rainy season.