California is in its third straight year of drought conditions, with 2014 as the driest year on record — setting the stage for disastrous consequences for people, animals and the environment.
Reservoirs all over the state are experiencing low water levels, which prompted Governor Jerry Brown to declare a drought emergency on Jan. 17. According to USA Today, this move allows for Governor Brown to request a broad emergency declaration from President Obama to get financial assistance and possibly suspend state and federal regulations, as well as receive water transfers.
See also: Satellites Capture 10 Years of Droughts
These actions were taken a step further today by the California Department of Water Resources which, in a press release, decided to limit the deliveries of water to customers of the State Water Project, which effects 25 million people and 750,000 acres of farmland. This is the first time in the history of the State Water Project that it has made such a move.
According to the Associated Press, the drought has severe implications for a variety of people, from communities with limited amounts of water to farmers who are seeing their fields dry up.
"This is the most serious drought we've faced in modern times," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board. "We need to conserve what little we have to use later in the year, or even in future years."
A car sits in dried and cracked earth of what was the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir on Jan. 28, 2014 in San Jose, California.
The waters of the San Gabriel River enter the dry upper reaches of San Gabriel Reservoir in the Angeles National Forest on Jan. 22, 2014 in near Azusa, California.
The San Gabriel River moves through the dry upper reaches of San Gabriel Reservoir in the Angeles National Forest on Jan. 22, 2014 in near Azusa, California.
A 'No Swimming' sign is posted at the Almaden Reservoir on Jan. 28, 2014 in San Jose, California.
A stream of water cuts through the dry bottom of the Almaden Reservoir on Jan. 28, 2014 in San Jose, California.
A drainage pipe hangs above a dry section of the Almaden Reservoir on Jan. 28, 2014 in San Jose, California.
American coots take flight from the mud flats and low water of Morris Reservoir on the San Gabriel River in the Angeles National Forest on Jan. 22, 2014 in near Azusa, California.
An animal print is seen in the dried earth on the bottom of the Almaden Reservoir on Jan. 28, 2014 in San Jose, California.
Canada Geese walk on mud that used to be the bottom of the Stevens Creek Reservoir on Jan. 30, 2014 in Cupertino, California.
Low water levels are visible at the Stevens Creek Reservoir on Jan. 30, 2014 in Cupertino, California.