As if the high gas prices weren't bad enough, there's more for Bay Area residents to worry about: the spectre of water shortages to come:
Frank Gehrke and Dave Hart of the state Department of Water Resources didn't even bother to take their measuring devices out of their vehicle before they hiked out into a barren field near Highway 50 at Phillips Station, a roadside stop established in 1859 at the 6,800-foot level.Patches of white lingered on the hills around them, and the Sierra peaks were snowcapped in the distance. But all the surveyors spotted on the ground at Phillips Station were lodgepole pine cones and a few scattered dog droppings.
The meadow was under 67.4 inches of snow on the same date last year, double the historic average.
"This is definitely a dry year, no doubt about that," Hart said.
[snip]
[Nearly all] reservoirs in the system will be filled to start the dry season, PUC spokesman Tony Winnicker said, because of the excess water in previous years. But there won't be enough runoff to refill the reservoirs as the year progresses. That sets up a potential water shortage in 2008, unless next winter turns out to be wetter than average and recharges the system.
Officials will assess usage and storage trends in July. Contingency plans for mandatory cutbacks already are being drafted just in case. The system serves customers in San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Clara counties.
