Politics & Government

California is Officially in a Drought

Gov. Jerry Brown is encouraging a 20 percent reduction is water use during what is expected to be California's driest year on record.

By Bay City News

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday declared a drought in California and encouraged water conservation during what is expected to be the driest year on record in the state.

Brown made the declaration at a news conference in San Francisco Friday morning and also issued a proclamation directing state officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for drought conditions.

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According to the proclamation, snowpacks in California's mountains are at about 20 percent of their normal average and the state's reservoirs have dropped to very low levels.

The proclamation calls on all Californians to reduce their water usage by 20 percent and orders all state agencies to implement water use reduction plans, including placing a moratorium on "new, non-essential landscaping projects at state facilities and on state highways."

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The full text of Brown's proclaimation is available at http://gov.ca.gov/home.php.

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