{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Drought off to an early start","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":389,"description":"February 15, 2022 — The drought is off to an early start, all around the county. Already, no water is available for agricultural use in Redwood Valley. Fort Bragg has 30% less water than it did this time last year. There is still money available to haul water from Ukiah to the coast again, though a water storage proposal for the town of Mendocino did not get funded with the last round of drought grants.\r\nIn Potter Valley, fifty cubic feet of water per second is flowing through the powerhouse, which is limping along with damaged equipment. However, users expect 140 cubic feet per second to come through via a bypass channel, starting next month.\r\nAnd things are looking dry in Fort Bragg too, according to John Smith, the city operations manager. Though the city has received more rain this year than last, he said it won’t be enough to recharge the groundwater unless it rains every day for the rest of the winter.\r\nHoward Dashiell, the director of the county Department of Transportation, reported that there is still about 667,000 gallons of water in the holding pond in Fort Bragg from last year’s water hauling program. “As the summer goes into the fall, we could haul again,” with funding from the State Department of Water Resources, he said.\r\nLake Mendocino was at just 42,594 acre feet last week, which is about 62% of the target water supply. Still, water must continue to be released in order to satisfy requirements set by the National Marine Fisheries Service to supply water for habitat.\r\n \r\nAt a meeting of the Inland Water and Power Commission right after the drought task force, John Reardon, of the Russian River Flood Control District, gave a quick preview of another possible water storage option that’s being explored on Hensley Creek. He said a biological survey found no endangered species. “There’s reason for guarded optimism there,” he said, adding that he expects the official report to be available in a couple of weeks.\r\nSean White, the director of water and...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}