California Drought
Where's the water?
Food Grows Where Water Flows
California is an agricultural capital of the United States but that industry is now suffering because of the drought.
Drought Severity Map
Yellow= abnormally dry
Yellow/orange= Moderate drought
Orange= Severe drought
Red= extreme drought
Burgandy= exceptional drought
Folsom Lake
The first picture is of Folsom Lake in 2011, in 2014 after three years of drouht Folsom Lake is pictured again, and it looks like a dried up puddle.
People of the crumbling state
California has been drying up for four years, and citizens of the state are starting to feel parched. 2014 was the state's driest year on record and the situation is becoming increasingly dire for average citizens ("Water Worries: California... Worst Drought Ever"). Many are without running water and have to drive to their local fire station where a reservoir is located to get water for their basic needs ("Water Worries: California... Worst Drought Ever"). Along with citizens who have no running water, California has to deal with quickly draining reservoirs, in Willitis California town officials checked their reservoir and found they only had enough water for 100 more days ("California areas brace for water rationing as reservoir levels fall").
Reservoirs are running dry
The dry state has scientists scrambling for solutions to this problem of epic proportions. But, finding a solution has proven to be an extremely difficult task, because how can you solve a water crisis with no water? The lakes and rivers that California uses for water supply are starting to run dry. Lake Folsom's water level resides at a fifth of what it was before the drought ("Water Worries: California... Worst Drought Ever"). And Lake Mead's water level is sitting only 39 feet above its first drainage pipe, and still, Las Vegas is making plans to build a huge pipe connecting it to the lake (Stephanie Warren Drimmer).
How does the drought affect us and others that don't live in California?
When California is pit through a period of drought, we all suffer. California is one of the agricultural capitals of the United States. When farmers can't get water to feed their crops, they don't have crops. And if they don't have crops we have to get them shipped from other places, and this means that prices of goods at the grocery store will be raised with the added cost of shipping.