Napa County Supervisors vote to end drought emergency declaration
NAPA COUNTY -- The Napa County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to end its drought emergency declaration.
The Board proclaimed a "State of Local Emergency" on March 8, 2022, about a year after Gov. Gavin Newsom did the same for the whole state.
Since October 2022, Napa has received nearly 32 inches of rain, which exceeds its average annual rainfall, but county officials pointed out that eight of the past 10 years have been characterized as "dry" to "very dry" and emphasized the need for continued water conservation.
And while the region's groundwater conditions have improved, projections show levels dropping below the "Minimum Threshold," which might hinder efforts to maintain sustainability in the Napa Valley Subbasin, county officials said.
To help offset future drought conditions, the county adopted a "reduced water criterion" of 0.3 acre-feet per acre for new wells.
Newsom lifted most statewide drought restrictions in March and several other Bay Area water systems have ended their emergency drought rules, including the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Santa Clara Valley Water District, the Alameda County Water District, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the Contra Costa Water District, Sonoma Water and the city of Mountain View.