{"id":9236,"date":"2015-08-20T08:22:01","date_gmt":"2015-08-20T15:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/?p=9236"},"modified":"2015-08-20T10:16:57","modified_gmt":"2015-08-20T17:16:57","slug":"ppic-drought-continues-environment-poor-rural-communities-suffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/plantingseedsblog.cdfa.ca.gov\/wordpress\/index.php\/2015\/08\/20\/ppic-drought-continues-environment-poor-rural-communities-suffer\/","title":{"rendered":"From PPIC – If Drought Continues: Environment and Poor Rural Communities Most Likely to Suffer"},"content":{"rendered":"

URBAN AREAS IN BEST SHAPE, <\/em>FARMERS ADAPTING BUT VULNERABLE<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

From the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Water Policy Center<\/strong><\/p>\n

SAN FRANCISCO, August 19, 2015\u2014If the California drought continues another two to three years, the state will face increasingly acute challenges in two areas: water supply in some low-income rural communities, where wells are running dry; and ecosystems, where the state\u2019s iconic biodiversity is under severe threat and wildfire risk is growing to new extremes. Farmers have been hit hard, but are adapting. The state\u2019s cities and suburbs are in the best shape to withstand more years of drought, thanks to investments in diversified water supplies and improved demand-management.<\/p>\n

These are some of the key findings of a new report released today by the PPIC Water Policy Center.<\/p>\n

The report\u2014which draws on wide-ranging data sources and conversations with officials, businesses, and stakeholders on the frontlines of drought management\u2014finds that wells in some rural communities are expected to run dry at an increasing pace. As of July 2015, more than 2,000 dry wells were reported in communities that are home to some of California\u2019s most vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n

California\u2019s freshwater habitats and forested lands, which have already been severely affected, will continue to face huge challenges and force difficult trade-offs. These could include the extinction of as many as 18 species of native fish, including most salmon runs; and high mortality for waterbirds that use the Pacific Flyway. Continued drought also brings a high risk of one or more severe fires that would affect local communities, watersheds, wildlife, infrastructure, and air quality.<\/p>\n

In agriculture, roughly 550,000 acres will be fallowed for each year the drought continues, according to a\u00a0new report by UC Davis<\/a>\u00a0for the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The study estimates the annual cost of water shortages to the state\u2019s economy at more than $2.8 billion and more than 21,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal jobs. Extra groundwater pumping will continue to be a key tool to reduce agricultural economic losses over the short term. There are still abundant groundwater reserves in many places, and high commodity prices make this extra pumping affordable\u2014but it will contribute to dry wells and sinking lands in some areas.<\/p>\n

Cities will need to continue to diversify their water sources and manage demand if the drought continues, but are likely to avoid extreme scarcity. The state\u2019s economy, which grew faster than the US economy as a whole during the drought thus far, will continue to show only minimal impacts, in part due to urban areas\u2019 resilience.<\/p>\n

“This drought is serving as a stress test for California\u2019s water management systems,\u201d said Ellen Hanak, director of the Water Policy Center and a co-author of the report. “Californians have worked hard to limit its impacts, but the experience has also revealed major gaps in our readiness to cope with the droughts we expect in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report says that ongoing drought will increase the need for emergency actions to get drinking water to rural communities and prevent extinctions of fish and large-scale death of waterbirds. The state also needs to start longer-term planning to build resilience so that fewer decisions are made on an emergency basis. Some key areas where both short- and long-term drought planning is essential include:<\/p>\n