Drought and Recession | Ecosystem Health | Jobs from the Delta | Water Allocations

California is in the midst of a three year drought, causing water supply restrictions across the State, not only in places that are dependent on the Bay-Delta. In 2007, the state only had 53 percent of normal rain fall, 58 percent in 2008 and has only had 77 percent by June of 2009, according to the California Department of Water Resources. All water districts that rely on water from the Bay-Delta are receiving some of their contractual allocations, and overall, despite the drought, the federal Central Valley Project will deliver more than 4 million acre feet of water for irrigated agriculture in California this year.

However, the forces of drought, the recession, the foreclosure crisis, and declining dairy prices have all combined to hit some communities in California's Central Valley particularly hard. But, between May 2008 and May 2009, Fresno County farm jobs actually increased - the only sector to do so, according to data from the California Employment Development Department :

• Between May '08 and May '09, Construction, Manufacturing, trade & transportation, and financial employment in Fresno County dropped by 3,000, 2,300, 1,200 and 900 respectively. Agriculture actually went up by 100.