Arnold calls drought 'crisis'

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Friday after three years of below-average rain and snowfall in California, a step that urges urban water agencies to reduce water use by 20 percent.

Mandatory rationing is an option if that and other measures prove insufficient.

"This is a crisis, just as severe as an earthquake or raging wildfire, and we must treat it with the same urgency by upgrading California's water infrastructure to ensure a clean and reliable water supply for our growing state," he said in a statement.

In signing the emergency proclamation, Schwarzenegger said California faces its third year of drought and must prepare for more.

The drought has forced farmers to fallow their fields, put thousands of agricultural workers out of work and prompted conservation measures in cities throughout the state.

"This drought is having a devastating impact on our people, our communities, our economy and our environment, making today's action absolutely necessary," the governor said in his statement.

The proclamation directs state agencies to provide assistance for affected communities and businesses, orders the Department of Water Resources to protect water quality supplies by installing temporary barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and calls for a statewide conservation campaign.

Three dry winters have left California's state- and federally operated reservoirs at their lowest levels since 1992.

Federal water managers announced last week that they would not deliver any water this year to thousands of California farms, although that could change if conditions improve. The state has said it probably would deliver just 15 percent of the water contractors have requested this year. Last June, Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought but stopped short of calling a state of emergency.

His 2008 executive order directed the state Department of Water Resources to speed water transfers to areas with the worst shortages and help local water districts with conservation efforts.

Worsening drought conditions prompted Schwarzenegger to follow last year's action with a formal state of emergency, a step not taken by his predecessors during previous dry spells in the 1970s and 1990s.

The federal government also stepped in this week, creating a federal drought task force to help California.

During the last few weeks, storms have helped bring the seasons' rain totals to 87 percent of average, but the Sierra snowpack remains at 78 percent of normal for this time of year. State hydrologists say the snowpack must reach between 120 to 130 percent of normal to make up for the two previous dry winters and replenish California's key reservoirs.

The state delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and more than 750,000 acres of farmland.

Low rain and snowfall hasn't been the only culprit behind California's water shortage.

Court decisions intended to protect threatened fish species have forced a significant cutback in pumping from the delta, the heart of the delivery system that conveys water from north to south.

Schwarzenegger, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Republican lawmakers, farmers and water agencies have argued for years that California must upgrade its decades-old water supply and delivery system.

"Relying on the same tools that rely on snowpack doesn't make sense to us," said Mindy McIntyre, water program manager at the Planning and Conservation League.