Governor Gavin Newsom has taken significant steps to prepare Californians for evolving drought impacts. The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has partnered with other state departments and agencies to form the
Drought Resilience Taskforce. The Taskforce, led by the Governor’s Office, meets regularly to coordinate state response to drought.
In April 2021, Governor Newsom signed an
emergency proclamation directing state agencies to take immediate action to increase drought resilience across the state. He also declared a State of Emergency in Mendocino and Sonoma counties due to severe drought conditions in the Russian River Watershed.
Just a month later, Governor Newsom would expand his
drought emergency proclamation to include Klamath River, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Tulare Lake Watershed counties where immediate action is needed to protect public health, safety, and the environment. Now, 41 counties are under a drought state of emergency, representing 30 percent of the state’s population.
As part of California’s Comeback Plan, the Governor signed the
2021-22 state budget agreement, which includes funding for water resilience and drought response. Climate change is making droughts more common and more severe.
The Governor’s Plan invests $5.1 billion over four years in drought support, water supply and natural habitat restoration projects around the state to build climate resilience in the face of more extreme cycles of wet and dry.
