The warm, sunny days we have been enjoying the last several weeks are delightful, but we shouldn’t be enjoying so many of them at this point in what should be our rainy season.
“This year is shaping up to be one of the driest on record in our region, with over 50% of our county considered to be in severe drought. Sonoma Valley averages about 35 inches a year, with about 29 inches in Sonoma. So far this rainfall season, Sonoma has had less than 11 inches, or less than 40 percent of normal. This late in the season, even with decent rainfall, it’s unlikely we will catch up,” said Richard Dale, Executive Director of Sonoma Ecology Center. “Compounded by last season’s below average rainfall, streams and reservoirs are low, and landscapes are already drying out. We may see another long fire season ahead, and perhaps mandatory water conservation.”
Two consecutive years of historic low levels of rainfall has contributed to low storage levels in our reservoirs. Lake Sonoma is at 62 percent of capacity and Lake Mendocino is just under 44 percent, according to Sonoma Water.
Streamflow is low and threatening the ecosystems for freshwater for humans and wildlife. Sonoma Ecology Center’s Senior Scientist and Research Program Manager Steve Lee has been working in partnership with Trout Unlimited to develop the Sonoma Creek Streamflow Stewardship Program (learn more here.) It is a science-based approach to study the effects of dry season streamflow in Upper Sonoma Creek, which will help form and foster stewardship actions with streamside landowners to promote water storage systems such as rainfall capture, and advocate for water conservation. Data is also being collected on the effects on streamflow from groundwater pumping.
More than half of Sonoma County is experiencing “severe drought,” according to the National Integrated Drought Information System, a multi-agency partnership that is part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A severe drought has many effects, from water temperature rising in streams and creeks to streamflow reduction that creates stress for juvenile fish such as salmon and steelhead, to a longer and more intense fire season. Trees and other plants are stressed by lack of water, and create more dry fuel.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a drought emergency for Sonoma and Mendocino counties that have experienced two consecutive years of record-low levels of rainfall and water supply in both Lake Sonoma and Lake Mendocino.
Given this drought, and with the dry season nearly upon us, Sonoma Ecology Center is urging neighbors to take water conservation seriously. There are things we can do immediately. Please visit “Drought Problems and Solutions” for tips about what you can do inside and outside.