Impacts of the Drought to California Agriculture

Low water levels at the north boat ramp at Lake Mendocino, a large reservoir in Mendocino County, California, October 21. California Department of Water Resources

Recent California climate extremes which include among the most severe droughts on record have highlighted the rapidly changing conditions that affect water supply for agriculture and the state’s growing population. The incremental water management and institutional learning at all levels has provided building blocks to better manage water shortages. At the same time, communities connected to agricultural areas share to varying extents multi-year drought impacts such as water shortages, high temperatures, and their lingering effects through dry wells, fire risk and degraded air and water quality. The project team conformed by UC and CSU academics in partnership with the Public Policy Institute of California Water Policy Center, will develop various milestone products including economic impact assessments, policy briefs, and an open access web tool that builds from currently available tools, and past collaborations.