The State Water Project, which carries runoff from the mountains of Northern California to much of the state, expects to limit annual water deliveries to 10 percent of what is requested in the coming year due to the prolonged drought.
The cutback announced Monday, while not unexpected, is another reminder of California’s precarious water situation and is a blow to both urban water departments and rural irrigation districts that received 5 percent of what they wanted last year — the lowest amount ever doled out by the state.
Though next year’s projected allocation is slightly larger, it will force the 29 contracting agencies, serving nearly two-thirds of California residents and 750,000 acres of farmland, to look elsewhere for water and to push conservation.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/State-Water-Project-expects-scant-deliveries-next-5928439.php