[...] we'd be standing in water, said Bruce Burton, a Willits city councilman, gesturing toward the small cement dam in the creek. The state's Department of Public Health says 17 rural areas including Willits — a town of about 5,000 that usually sees about 50 inches of rain a year — are dangerously low on water, and officials expect that number to grow. In addition to declaring a drought emergency, California has canceled water deliveries from the state's water system to farms and thirsty cities and shut down fishing in dozens of streams to protect imperiled salmon and steelhead. City leaders have banned lawn watering and car washing, mandated all residents to cut water use dramatically and asked restaurants to serve the precious resource only upon request, and to conserve such as using paper plates. "According to tree ring records, this water year, which began Oct. 1, really stands out as one of the worst single years in the last 500 years," said Lynn Ingram, author of "The West Without Water" and a University of California earth science professor. "Water theft is a big concern, so we're doing public announcements and have a line to call for reports to the sheriff's department," said Carre Brown, a Mendocino County supervisor. Officials are racing to develop two groundwater wells within city limits, but the water in both sources is polluted by naturally occurring arsenic and other minerals, so the city needs an expensive treatment facility to make it potable. Ron Owens, a spokesman for the state public health department, said officials are helping struggling towns like Willits identify other water options, like connecting with other water systems if need be.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 2 hours ago.
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