A number of scientists are now criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom over his call for residents to reduce water use up to 15 percent because of the state’s severe drought.
They say the voluntary call "does not go far enough."
One of those critics is Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute, who told KNX we've known about this situation for months.
“It’s been incredibly dry. The reservoirs are already much lower than they were at a comparable time in the last drought,” said Gleick.
Droughts are a common occurrence in California, but this year has been hotter and drier than past years. The state has more than 1,500 reservoirs, and they are 50 percent lower than they should be this time of year, according to Jay Lund, co-director of the Center for Watershed Sciences at the University of California-Davis.
When Newsom expanded the drought emergency to cover 30 percent of the state’s population, he emphasized the importance of protecting water sources for the future.
"With the reality of climate change abundantly clear in California, we’re taking urgent action to address acute water supply shortfalls in northern and central California while also building our water resilience to safeguard communities in the decades ahead," Newsom said in a news release.
"We’re working with local officials and other partners to protect public health and safety and the environment, and call on all Californians to help meet this challenge by stepping up their efforts to save water."
But Gleick said the call to action could have come earlier.
“I think it would have been more prudent to start raising the alarm earlier and to start telling people all the things they can do and have done in previous droughts to save water," he said.
"We’re going to be sorry we didn’t save that water next year.”
Many experts say that the governor may be forced into making mandatory water restrictions like those introduced by former Gov. Jerry Brown six years ago during the last major drought.