In late March, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) rolled back some emergency drought provisions after the state received record rain and snowfall following a 3-year-long drought.
The state will increase water deliveries to 29 public water agencies, now expecting to deliver 75% of requested water supplies—up from 35% announced in February, and the highest since 2017, the state said.
The recent order ends the voluntary 15% water conservation target and ends the requirement that local water agencies implement level 2 of their drought contingency plans.
The order maintains the ban on wasteful water uses, preserves current emergency orders focused on groundwater supplies, maintains orders on specific watersheds that have not benefited as much from recent rains (including the Klamath River and Colorado River basins), and retains a state of emergency for all 58 counties to allow for drought response and recovery efforts.
