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California's water supply faces a big drop because of climate change, state forecast finds
An aerial view of high water conditions at the West Branch Feather River Bridge at Lake Oroville in 2019, when the reservoir was at 97% capacity.
(
Florence Low
/
California Department of Water Resources
)
Topline:
The amount of water California can provide is projected to drop over the next twenty years due to climate change, according to a report from the California Department of Water Resources.
What does the report look at? The report evaluates the State Water Project, a water storage and delivery system that sprawls more than 700 miles and provides water to 27 million Californians.
It found that under current conditions, the project's "delivery capability and reliability" could be reduced between 13% and 23% over the next two decades.
Why is this happening: The State Water Project's deputy director John Yarbrough said that's because intensified storms and droughts caused by climate change put a strain on the system — and that California needs to invest in adapting.
"[We] really need to look at, how can we adapt our infrastructure so that we're ready for the climate of the next hundred years?"
What's being done: Yarbrough referenced projects like a plan to build a tunnel to move water under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as ways California is trying to adapt.
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Read the report: It's a breezy 91 pages.
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