Santa Clara county, the home of Silicon Valley, issued mandatory water restrictions this week during a severe drought that has already reached historic levels. “We are indeed in a dire situation,” said Rick Callender, the CEO of the water district serving Santa Clara county, during a public hearing Wednesday. The responsibility of government, as we all know, is to act before the storm can actually cause the devastation.”Across California, drought conditions are intensifying as climbing temperatures obliterate the diminished snowpack and reservoirs see record-low inflows. Water has long been a localized issue in California, and the Newsom administration has to tread carefully, according to the water policy expert Felicia Marcus, who previously served as chair of the California state water resources control board. But, according to researchers and water policy experts, more needs to be done.

Source: The Guardian June 12, 2021 09:56 UTC