SACRAMENTO - Senator Ted Gaines (R-El Dorado) reacted to the results of this morning's California snow survey, a measurement of the water content of California's snowpack. This monthly survey is used to determine the amount of runoff the state can expect throughout the spring and summer. Typically, melting snow provides roughly 30-percent of California's water supply.
"This snow survey proves that California's stormy January was a drought-buster. The state is buried under a thick blanket of snow that will keep our reservoirs full all through the summer and make this a better year for recreation, agriculture, and for people who have had to cut back on personal water use.
"But all this water also highlights that staggering lack of foresight and political will on the part of politicians who have neglected to build enough water storage to keep up with our growing population. The Sacramento River was recently surging with enough water every day to supply the needs of 150,000 families for an entire year. But instead of capturing that water in reservoirs it was being diverted into open fields or running out into the sea.
"It won't matter how much rain and snow we get if we don't have a way to store it and move it around the state. This extraordinary winter is a gift but we aren't ready to accept it. I'm tired of delays. I want to see concrete and steel in the ground, workers and bulldozers in action so the next time Mother Nature opens up, California can capture the water it needs."
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Senator Ted Gaines represents the 1st Senate District, which includes all or parts of Alpine, El Dorado, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties.
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