Communities in rural California are in danger of running out of water in the very near future.
According to the San Jose Mercury News, state officials have said that due to the state’s severe drought, 17 communities are in danger of running out of water within 60 to 120 days. The wells are already running dry and reservoirs are almost empty.
Some Bay-Area communities are particularly vulnerable to the danger.
KCBS has reported that the larger communities are faring better because they have conservation programs.
“Our conservation programs that we implemented since 1992 now reduce the county’s water demands by about 10 percent, or 56,000 acre-feet a year—so that’s a significant contribution in a year like this,” said Joan Maher, spokeswoman for the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
Several other communities are still being threatened though and running out of water in four months would be devastating.
The potential facing those areas has officials up and down the state concerned and working together for a solution on where and how to get water resources to those rural parts that desperately need it.