Drought

Included in the sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill approved by the Senate is funding for Western water projects that farmers, water providers and environmentalists say are badly needed across the parched region.

Tourists flock by the thousands to the coastal town of Mendocino for its Victorian homes and cliff trails, but visitors this summer are also finding public portable toilets and signs on picket fences pleading: "Severe Drought. Please conserve water."

California has shut down one of its largest hydroelectric plants because there’s not enough water to power it. The Edward Hyatt Power Plant was taken off-line Thursday after the water level in the Oroville Dam sank to an historic low.

California regulators are planning to stop thousands of farmers from taking water out of the state's major rivers and streams because of a worsening drought.

The city of Santa Clara declared a local emergency for drought and will ratify the emergency proclamation that calls for restriction on water use.

Newsom’s request is not an order, but it demonstrates the growing challenges of a drought that will only worsen throughout the summer and fall and is tied to recent heat waves.

The number of wildfires and amount of land burned in parched California so far this year greatly exceed totals for the same period in disastrous 2020.

Santa Clara County has declared a local emergency because of extreme drought conditions and a water supply shortage.

The pre-holiday-season has already become a nightly illegal fireworks show all over California, sometimes with devastating consequences. 

Residents in San Jose, Campbell, Saratoga, and Los Gatos can expect some immediate changes in light of current drought conditions.

Lake Oroville is shrinking with surprising speed amid a severe drought, with state officials predicting it will reach a record low later this summer.

The Russian River's inflatable rubber dam near Forestville is being replaced for the first time since 1995, with construction starting Monday and continuing until mid-October.

Thousands of Central California farmers were warned Tuesday that they could face water cutoffs this summer as the state deals with a drought that already has curtailed federal and state irrigation supplies.

The National Weather Service forecasts temperatures over 100 degrees in Concord, Livermore, and other parts of the East Bay later in the week.

Creeks and springs at Point Reyes National Seashore haven't completely dried up but they're looking parched enough that park staff set up three large troughs last week to ensure tule elk herds get enough water to make it through the drought.

People living in Healdsburg must turn off their sprinklers and drip irrigation systems because the city has declared a drought emergency, city officials said Friday.

Water levels are approaching record lows at the Nicasio Reservoir in Marin County for this time of year with conditions only worsening.

Santa Clara County's largest water provider has declared a water emergency and is implementing mandatory use reductions. The announcement came in a unanimous vote by Valley Water late this afternoon.