SACRAMENTO, California — For the first time since 1977, state water officials are set to order farmers, cities and other big water users to limit the amount of water they pump from rivers and streams.
The State Water Resources Control Board is projecting curtailment orders to begin this month for 10 different rivers and their watersheds because of the state's ongoing drought.
The orders will be delivered first to junior water rights holders — those who obtained their water rights after 1914. Senior rights holders would still be able to take water initially.
The rivers slated for the curtailment orders include the Russian River above Healdsburg and the Kern, Kings, Kaweah, Merced, Middle Fork Eel, Stanislaus, Tule, Tuolumne and Yuba rivers.
The Sacramento Bee reports that Sacramento may be ordered to curtail diversions starting May 15, which could lead to more severe rationing.
