Memorandum
Date: April 12, 2022
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Bruno Sabatier, District 2
Subject: Drought discussion and actions
a) Consider Interim Urgency Ordinance Placing a Moratorium on New Agricultural and Cannabis Cultivation Projects
b) Consider Letter to Governor Newsom Requesting a Halt on New Cannabis Cultivation Licensing Statewide
c) Consider Requesting the Lake County Drought Task Force Discuss, Draft, and Provide Ag/Cannabis Guidelines During Drought Conditions
d) Discussion of Other Actions Regarding Drought
Executive Summary:
As we know, we are facing an unprecedented, modern day, drought. A recent study states that this drought "represents the largest Southwestern North American area to experience a top-five 22 year drought-severity ranking in at least 1,200 years." On March 15, Water Resources presented about our current drought conditions sharing with us that lake levels may get close to 1976/77 lake levels, one of our worst documented droughts of our recent past. Last year, we approved a water truck ordinance due to the number of water trucks moving water around our county. For some it was for drinking water to those who could no longer pull water out of their wells, for others these deliveries also included other activities such as providing water to illegal cannabis grows. The number of trucks was alarming enough to create an ordinance restricting their activities, but proof nonetheless that this drought has impacted our groundwater and not just our lake. Bottom line, Lake County needs to do a better job of conserving water and not adding any new burden to an already stressed water system any more than it already is.
A) Agriculture and cannabis is a part of Lake County. While walnuts and pears are decreasing their acreage in Lake County, we have seen a continued increase in vineyards and quick increase in cannabis acreage. In 2018, total vineyard acres were 9,254 and in 2020 it increased to 9,584, a...
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