State gets serious about deepening drought

Anticipating another bone-dry winter, California is preparing to act as a water go-between next year, buying from water-rich districts in the north and selling to cities and farmers hit hard by drought.

The initiative, known as the 2009 Drought Water Bank, harkens back to measures taken during the long dry spell of the late 1980s and early 1990s and underscores the state's efforts to squeeze every drop out of a system strained by climate change, a booming population and environmental rulings that have slashed pumping out of the linchpin Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

On Thursday, the state Department of Water Resources announced the formation of the water bank during a "drought summit" in Sacramento attended by urban, agricultural and other groups that represent a total of about 25 million people, or a majority of California's water users.

Faced with forecasts showing a period that could resemble either the short, deep drought in the late 1970s or longer drought of the late 1980s, officials said they must plan for the worst. Already, many of California's reservoirs stand at record-low levels - some as low as 13 percent of capacity - after two critically dry years.

"There are a number of scenarios where we don't regain snowpack and because the reservoirs are low, we're in a lot of trouble - and that's what we're down to," said Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow.

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