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El Nino will bring needed rain, but not enough to end drought

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The expected El Nino storm system is welcome news to dry, parched California. But the weather phenomenon may not be enough of a “super-soaker” to end the drought. In fact, public water agencies that serve millions of residents might only receive 10 percent of expected supplies needed next year, basically half of the amount that flowed to them this year through the state’s system of reservoirs and canals.

Officials at the Department of Water Resources said this early estimate of how much water the agency could provide to its customers  could change, depending on the rain and snow that falls this winter. However, one good winter won’t be enough to re-hydrate land that has endured four years of drought.

“Our historic drought has lasted four years and isn’t going to be quickly washed away,” said Mark Cowin, director of the Department of Water Resources.

The State Water Project is another organization in charge of overseeing water distribution; it services 29 public water agencies—from the San Francisco Bay Area to Southern California. It also serves about two-thirds of California residents and irrigates nearly a million acres of land. Reservoirs have been at extra-low levels for at least two years, with the water shortage forcing farmers to rely more on a shrinking supply of ground water. The reservoirs and canals supply the most vital source of water, and this year customers received only 20 percent of their contracted amounts from the water project.

State officials say they hope the 2016 allocation will increase as the snowpack intensifies over the Sierra Nevada mountains. These same officials are also considering the possibility that the drought could drag on for another year, despite El Nino. Consequently, they are calling for a modernization of the water reclamation system.

“We need a modern water system that allows us to capture water when it’s available,” said Rich Atwater of the Southern California Water Committee. “If we can make improvements to our reservoirs, feed more [water] into our streams and groundwater deposits, we can store enough water to protect us during the dry periods. In the meantime, Californians must keep conserving.”

All of the dry weather has taken a toll on California’s air quality. A new report from the American Lung Association has found that years of drought has caused a great deterioration of air quality throughout the state, according to data gathered between 2011 and 2013. The report evaluated California’s main metropolitan areas based on the levels of ozone (the main ingredient of smog), and measurable particles of dust that build up in the air. The Central Valley had the most airborne particulate pollution; Los Angeles County, despite decades of better air quality management, was the smoggiest region over the observed time period.

What happens is that during dry conditions, soils lose moisture and dust is released into the atmosphere. When there is a little rain, this dust—“particulate pollution”—is trapped closer to the ground. These particles end up in people’s lungs and this, in turn, contributes to a whole range of respiratory infections such as asthma.

Californians have been trying to conserve water. This week, the State Water Resources Control Board announced that although consumers in October barely missed the monthly 25-percent reduction mark (22.2 percent), it was just a minor dip and marked the first month that the reduction target has been missed. This came on the heels of the worst statewide heat wave in 25 years.

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