Legislators urge Governor Newsom to lift drought restrictions for Siskiyou

Two California legislators are urging Governor Newsom to lift the drought restrictions on farmers and ranchers in Siskiyou County. Senator Brian Dahle and Assemblywoman Megan Dahle sent a letter to the Governor on April 19th, stating, “There is no longer a drought in the Klamath Basin. There certainly isn’t an emergency that justifies continuing the Water Board’s strict measures and the costs they’ve imposed on agriculture in the region.” They noted that snowpack in the Scott River watershed is 163% of the historical average, and the drought designation is “likely” to be removed soon by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Yet, “emergency State Water Board regulations still threaten irrigators on the Scott and Shasta Rivers with curtailments, and put pressure on them to sign agreements for local cooperative solutions that ‘voluntarily’ reduce water use.” Scott Valley farmers are required to reduce their water use by 30% in order to avoid 100% curtailment this summer.

“We urge you,” wrote Sen. Dahle and Asm. Dahle, “to lift the drought designation without further delay.”

Read the letter here.