California Governor Arnold Declares Drought Emergency

Saturday, February 28, 2009 at 11:19 am

California Governor Arnold Declares Drought Emergency CALIFORNIA: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state emergency due to drought, requested broad conservation measures and said farm losses in the coming season could top $2 billion.

Total economic losses in 2009 could be nearly $3 billion, the governor said.

The move encourages urban water agencies to reduce water use by 20 percent and says mandatory conservation is an option if those and other measures prove insufficient.

Schwarzenegger called the state’s drought a crisis as severe as an earthquake or wildfire.