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California Governor Jerry Brown is expected to announce soon that our state's drought is over, thanks to a season of heavy rains. "Brown is expected to lift the state's 3-year-old drought declaration Wednesday, when the next snow survey is conducted," according to the LA Times.
The current drought was declared by previous governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, which, notes the Sacramento Bee, was a moment in our state's history that "also revealed that there are no hard and fast rules for declaring a drought." How does a drought get "declared" officially? The Bee says it "is a judgment call by the governor based on hydrologic reports and anecdotal information about whether the state is experiencing hardship due to water shortages."
That "hydrological perspective," says the Times, indicated we were recovering last year, but it wasn't quite time to call the whole drought thing off, "because reservoir storage had not fully recovered and this year might turn dry."
The good news is, we have sufficient water on hand for the dry summer months ahead, and allocations from water distribution sites around the state are better prepared to deliver to suit demand.
Of course, a drought gone today doesn't mean it's gone forever, and experience and common sense dictate that a little conservation in your day to day life can go a long way for water supplies for your fellow Californians.