Q&A with Lauren Bisnett
Information Officer, California Department of Water Resources

Winged Post: Should Californians be more or less concerned about the drought now than this past summer?

Lauren Bisnett: Californians always need to be concerned about the drought, no matter what time of year it is. And I say that sort of twofold. So one, what we’re really doing is we can’t bank on expecting a lot of rainfall. We’re hoping that we’re going to get a lot of rainfall with the snowpack, one third of our water supply. We’ll see good precipitation this coming winter season, but there’s no guarantees for that, especially with the role the climate change plays in how we’re seeing less and less rain each year, and that means a diminishing snowpack. So we’re certainly taking actions now to be prepared for another dry year, but we’re also hoping for rain and hoping for the best. And then in the bigger picture scheme of things, whether we’re in a drought or not, all Californians really need to be planning for those years that we’re not in drought. So that means being good environmental stewards and taking care of our groundwater supply, making good investments in infrastructure so that we have good water storage in our reservoirs, perhaps new reservoirs, and so really. it’s about looking at the near term, but also the long term, so the years when we’re not in a drought, we’re prepared for when we do go into a drought.

WP: What have been the most severe effects of the drought so far?

LB: I would say the most severe effect [that] you can imagine is health and human safety, obviously, and also major impacts to the environment. So in years such as drought you see we’re more prone to wildfires taking place. So that takes an enormous toll on the environment and on people. Since we’re going into our third dry year of drought […] we definitely have seen significant impact to people’s drinking water supplies, which is water in their homes. So we’ve seen numerous impacts, and those are just a couple to name off the top. So it just depends too on where you are in California in terms of how severe the drought impact is going to be on you because some people rely on groundwater supplies which are being heavily depleted this year, whereas other parts of the state, maybe more up north, [have] more precipitation and are less reliant on groundwater, but that is also the interesting thing about what we’re finding about this particular drought compared to the drought that took place in the late 1920s and the drought that took place in the late 70s is that the conditions are most definitely drier or reaching those record dry, and so we expect that […] any impact we see now […] can be compounded going into another dry year. So just again, huge impacts on birds and fish and wildlife, you probably saw the wildfires throughout the state […] the impacts are all over the state. It just depends on where you are because we are such a diverse state in terms of the impact you’re going to see.

WP: Do you feel that there is any drought­related issue that the public is not sufficiently aware of?

LB: I think the biggest thing the real message out to all Californians, the one we can’t really spread enough awareness of, is conservation. You need to be conserving all the time, and again, even in those years when we’re not in a drought. And so that means educating children as they’re getting older and becoming responsible community members and citizens and just conserving water at home, and conserving water when you’re in your backyard and considering using maybe drought tolerant plants and native plants. Things like turning off the water when you brush your teeth, taking ten minute showers, doing full loads of laundry, these are all practical ways that Californians can save water that add up to huge saving across the state. And what that means is it makes our water resources more sustainable for the entire population. So the major thing is just to be conscious of drought whether we’re in a drought or not and people should be aware that there are hazards. We can be in a drought, for example, and still some areas of the state can be susceptible to flash floods. For example, there’s a heavy rain in 1 particular area that’s been dry. There are problems that can be caused with that, and so the big message is just for Californians to be prepared and to always be conserving water.

 An abridged version of this piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on November 21, 2014.