After two wet winters, Gov. Jerry Brown is scheduled to announce today that California's three-year drought has ended, although officials will continue to call for conservation measures.
Brown is expected to make the official announcement after receiving manual snowpack measurements from the Department of Water Resources. Officials expect the statistics will confirm electronic readings that the water content is nearly 60 percent above average - enough to call an end to the drought of 2007-09.
Los Angeles officials said they are not prepared to rescind lawn-watering restrictions until they have more confidence about the long-term outlook. And Brown spokesman Evan Westrup also said the governor will be urging Californians to continue to watch their water use.
"While the season's surplus of rain and strong snowpack has clearly ended the dry spell for now, it is critical that Californians continue to conserve water," Westrup said.
DWR spokesman Ted Thomas said officials believe today's measurement will show that rain and snowpack is 60 percent above normal for the weather year that ends April 1. Water Resources officials estimate last year's total at 9 percent above normal.
The National Weather Service, which measures rainfall from July 1 through June 30, says Los Angeles got 16.36 inches of rain in 2009-10, about an inch above normal. During the drought, L.A. received 3.21 inches in 2006-07; 13.53 inches in 2007-08; and 9.08 inches
in 2008-09.The 2007-09 drought was the first in California's water history for which a statewide proclamation of emergency was issued.
"Because Gov. (Arnold) Schwarzenegger issued an executive order on the drought, it will require Gov. Brown to issue his own order rescinding it," Thomas said.
The drought was considered the fifth-worst in state history and resulted in reduced deliveries of water to cities and agricultural regions. At one point, the Metropolitan Water District, which serves Southern California, was told it would receive only 20 percent of its requested allocation.
Los Angeles also had to buy more of its water from the MWD instead of relying on its own, less-expensive supply that arrives from Owens Valley via the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
MWD General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger said this year's storms helped ease the agency's water shortage - the agency's largest reservoir, Diamond Valley Lake, is nearly full - although officials believe the public still needs to practice conservation measures.
"The long-term challenges remain ahead of us, but the short-term conditions have improved considerably," Kightlinger said. "What we hope to see is a lifestyle change in how people consume water."
In addition to the snowpack measurements of 60 percent above normal, the Colorado River, another source of water for California, is about 20 percent above normal.
"It is rare when both California and the Colorado have significant water years at the same time," Kightlinger said. "What it means is we can replenish a lot of our reservoirs and the Colorado will be able to help replenish Lake Powell."
Kightlinger said two years ago the MWD was told it would only receive 20 percent of the water it needed.
"We started very low and were able to get up to 50 percent of our supply, but it was very tight times," Kightlinger said. "Now, we are projecting by the end of the year that we will be back to where we were before this drought began in 2006."
The Water Resources Department is estimating it will be able to deliver 70 percent of State Water Project requests this year, up from 50 percent in 2010. In 2008, deliveries totaled just 35 percent of requests.
Despite the positive news about the water supply, Los Angeles officials want to take a cautious approach before lifting the city's drought restrictions.
Residents living in homes with odd-numbered addresses can water their lawns for eight minutes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those with even-numbered addresses can water Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
"We had a good rain this year, but we could be in a drought again next year," said Councilwoman Jan Perry, who chairs the Environment and Energy Committee. "Before we lift the requirements we have in place and the public seems to have adjusted, we need to be sure the supplies are there."
DWP officials said it will send teams on Friday to measure the snowpack in the Eastern Sierras, the source of water for the Los Angeles Aqueduct.
Staff Writer Dana Bartholomew contributed to this report.
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