This document summarizes the ongoing drought conditions in California through a literature review. It discusses how the state has historically relied on water management through projects like the Los Angeles Aqueduct and State Water Project. However, the current drought is testing this system as precipitation and water supplies decline. The Colorado River, which California also relies on, is experiencing drought conditions. This drought is impacting agriculture, economies, and wildlife. It may also affect water availability and prices in other states due to California's role as a major agricultural producer.

1. DROUGHT IN CALIFORNIA
ABIGAIL NICKRANT
Source: California droughts test history of endless
growth
From: New York Times, April 4, 2015

2. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND
• Manifest Destiny:
• Westward Expansion
• 1848: California Becomes a State
• Gold Rush - mining
• Dam funding
• 1906: Mulholland & Eaton bring
water to L.A. through the Owens
Valley Water Project and LA
aqueduct
• Second “gold rush” climate and jobs
• State Water Project Initiated
“The American West was won by water management. What
happens when there is no water left to manage?”
Source: California Dept of Water
Resources
From: History of the California Water
Project, DWR, 2015
Source: Metropolitan Water District: Historical Background
From: Water and Power Associates, 2014

3. THE COLORADO RIVER
Bending state borders to incorporate the
Colorado
• The “Wet” 20th Century
• Water management built off of flood
conditions throughout the west
• The flood is over
Source: Discover Magazine
From: Top 100 Stories of
2013: #67, Colorado River in
Drought’s Grip, T. Yulsman,
2014
2000
2013
Source: Colorado River Watershed
From: Roaring Fork Conservancy, 2015

4. COLORADO RIVER TODAY
Source: Saving the Colorado River
Delta one habitat at a time
From: National Geographic, 2014

5. CALIFORNIA AND
WATER USAGE
TODAY
1900: 2 MILLION
1950: 10 MILLION
2015: 38 MILLION
2050: 50 MILLION
(PROJECTED)
Source: Regional per Capita Water Use in California
From: The Southern California Water Villain, PPIC, 2015

6. WATER SOURCES IN CALIFORNIA
LAND USAGE WATER SOURCES PRECIPITATION
Source: A tale of two California water suppliers: The State Water Project
vs. The Colorado River
From: The Los Angeles News Group, 2014
Source: Turning off the Tap
From: California Dept of Water Resources
Source: Ground Water Atlas of the United States: CA/NV
From: USGS, 2015

7. DROUGHT CONDITIONS THROUGH THE
YEARS
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor Map Archive
From: United States Drought Monitor, April 7, 2015

8. THE SCIENCE OF DROUGHT
• Climate throughout the state varies tremendously
• Entire state considered in drought
• Extreme drought every 20-50 years
• Severity of drought caused by the “Ridiculously
Resilient Ridge”
Source: The California Drought: who gets the water and who is hung out to dry?
From: earthjustice.org, 2014
Source: California drought isn’t getting any better
From: Pioneer Review, 2014

9. WATER IN CALIFORNIA
THE AVERAGE AMERICAN USES 98 GWPD
THE AVERAGE CALIFORNIAN USES 196 GWPD
STOCKTON DECREASED WATER USAGE TO 56 GWPD
SAN DIEGO INCREASED DEMAND 8.3% IN 2 YRS
WATER MOVED THROUGHOUT THE STATE
CONSTANTLY, NOT THIS YEAR
STATE WATER PROJECT (SWP) ONLY DELIVERING 5%
REQUESTED WATER TO FARMS
AVERAGE OF 17% INCREASE IN SWP WATER
ALLOCATION FOR COUNTIES/CITIES
Source: California’s hot, dry winters tied to climate change
From: California Dept of Water Resources, 2014

10. ECONOMIC IMPACT OF WATER SHORTAGE IN
CALIFORNIA
• 80% OF CALIFORNIAN WATER USAGE GOES TO
AGRICULTURE
• 54% TO IRRIGATION
• CALIFORNIA IS THE WORLD’S 7TH LARGEST ECONOMY
• 428,000 ACRES EXPECTED TO LAY FALLOW THIS YEAR
Source: California is tapping water that rained 20,000 years ago to deal with epic drought
From: Inhabitat, 2015
Source: California Drought: Farmer loses 1,000 acres of almond trees to California drought
From: NBC News Online, 2015
Source: A trip to the almonds in California
From: Mother Earth News, 2012

11. WHY THE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT AFFECTS
EVERYONE
• THREE-YEAR STRETCH OF DROUGHT THUS
FAR
• 80% OF CALIFORNIA IN
EXTREME/EXCEPTIONAL DROUGHT
• 80% CALIFORNIAN WATER USED BY
CALIFORNIA FARMS
• $810 MILLION IN LOSSES IN CENTRAL
VALLEY ALONE
• $453 MILLION SPENT TO PUMP GROUND
WATER
• 17,000 AGRICULTURAL JOBS LOST
• 428,000 ACRES LAY FALLOW
• GROUNDWATER DRILLING = SINKING
GROUND
• SKYROCKETING FRUITS AND VEGETABLE
PRICES
• HALF FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND NUTS
GROWN IN CALIFORNIA
• FISH EVACUATIONS AND WILDFIRES
• CALIFORNIA: $687 MILLION
• FEDERAL: $183 MILLION
• PREDICTED: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WILL
ONLY GET DRIER, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
WILL GET HOTTER
• LESS WATER FOR ALL

12. IMPACT OF
MANDATORY
WATER
RESTRICTIONS
• MAY 2015, MANDATORY 25% WATER
USAGE CUT FOR ALL HOUSEHOLDS
• AS OF APRIL 7, 2015, WATER USAGE
HAS DECREASED 2.7% SINCE
FEBRUARY
• SOME REGIONS SEE AN INCREASE IN
WATER DEMAND
• USAGE PER PERSON HAS DECREASED
• BOOST IN DEMAND FOR IRRIGATION
• HIGHER TEMPERATURES MEAN MORE
WATER USAGE NEEDED
Source: What Does a 20% Reduction in Daily Water Use Look Like?
From: USDA: Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, 2015

13. LITERATURE CITED:
BAJZELJ, B., RICHARDS, K. S., ALLWOOD, J. M., SMITH, P., DENNIS, J. S., CURMI, E., & GILLIGAN, C. A. (2014). IMPORTANCE OF FOOD-DEMAND MANAGEMENT FOR CULTURE MITIGATION. NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE, 4, 924-929. HTTP://DOI:10.1038/NCLIMATE2353
BLOCH, M., & PARK, H. (2015, APRIL 1). HOW MUCH WATER CALIFORNIANS USE AT HOME. NEW YORK TIMES. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/INTERACTIVE/2014/UPSHOT/MAPPING-THE-SPREAD-OF-DROUGHT-ACROSS-THE-US.HTML?ABT=0002&ABG=0
BOSTOCK, M., & QUEALY, K. (2015, APRIL 2). MAPPING THE SPREAD ACROSS THE U.S. NEW YORK TIMES. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/INTERACTIVE/2014/UPSHOT/MAPPING-THE-SPREAD-OF-DROUGHT-ACROSS-THE-US.HTML?ABT=0002&ABG=0
BREITLER, A. (2015, APRIL 7). CONSERVATION EFFORTS TAKE A TUMBLE. THE RECORD. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.RECORDNET.COM/ARTICLE/20150407/NEWS/150409755/101095/A_NEWS
GREEN, L., JR. (2014, JANUARY 31). CALIFORNIA DROUGHT ISN'T GETTING ANY BETTER. PIONEER REVIEW. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WILLIAMSPIONEER.COM/ARTICLE/55805
HOWARD, B. C. (2014, DECEMBER 15). SAVING THE COLORADO RIVER ONE HABITAT AT A TIME. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://NEWS.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/NEWS/SPECIAL-FEATURES/2014/12/141216-COLORADO-RIVER-DELTA-RESTORATION-WATER-DROUGHT-
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KUNZIG, R. (2008, FEBRUARY). DRYING OF THE WEST. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://NGM.NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/2008/02/DRYING-WEST/KUNZIG-TEXT/1
LUND, J., MENDELLIN-AZURA, J., & HARTER, T. (2014). WHY CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE NEEDS GROUND WATER MANAGEMENT. CALIFORNIA WATERBLOG, 1-25. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.YOLOWRA.ORG/TECH_AGENDAS/2014/GROUNDWATERARTICLES(TO).PDF
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NAGOURNEY, A., HEALY, J., & SCHWARTZ, N. D. (2015, APRIL 4). CALIFORNIA DROUGHTS TESTS HISTORY OF ENDLESS GROWTH. NEW YORK TIMES. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/2015/04/05/US/CALIFORNIA-DROUGHT-TESTS-HISTORY-OF-ENDLESS-GROWTH.HTML?SMID=TW-
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NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. (2015). UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, LINCOLN [WHAT IS DROUGHT?]. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DROUGHTBASICS/WHATISDROUGHT.ASPX
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ROGERS, P., & ST. FLEUR, N. (2014, FEBRUARY 7). CALIFORNIA DROUGHT: DATABASE SHOWS BIG DIFFERENCES BETWEEN WATER GUZZLERS AND SIPPERS. SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.MERCURYNEWS.COM/SCIENCE/CI_25090363/CALIFORNIA-DROUGHT-WATER-
USE-VARIES-WIDELY-AROUND-STATE
SIEGLER, K. (2015, APRIL 7). CALIFORNIA FARMERS GULP MOST OF STATE'S WATER, BUT SAY THEY'VE CUT BACK [NEWSGROUP POST]. RETRIEVED FROM NPR.ORG WEBSITE: HTTP://WWW.NPR.ORG/BLOGS/THESALT/2015/04/07/398106067/CALIF-S-FARMERS-GULP-MOST-OF-STATES-WATER-BUT-
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UC DAVIS: CENTER FOR WATERSHED SERVICES. (2015). REGIONAL PER CAPITA WATER USE IN CALIFORNIA [FACT SHEET]. RETRIEVED FROM PPIC WEBSITE: HTTPS://WATERSHED.UCDAVIS.EDU/MYTHS/THE+SOUTHERN+CALIFORNIA+WATER+VILLAIN/#3
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