Cowin said DWR is implementing a number of water management changes, including a drought barrier in the Delta and temporary urgency changes in operations. He said about 1,900 wells have gone dry in California and over 1,000 of the dry wells are in Tulare County.
Below is a table showing the change in harvested acres between 2013 and 2007 compiled from County crop reports.
| change in acres 2013 to 2007 | |||||
| field | fruit/nut | veg | total | % ch | |
| Kern | -173783 | 113035 | -19324 | -80072 | -8.7% |
| Kings | -51693 | 13050 | 18 | -38625 | -6.8% |
| Tulare | 101546 | 72518 | -334 | 173730 | 20.4% |
| Fresno | -154386 | 39916 | -48240 | -162710 | -13.8% |
| Madera | -22280 | 37560 | 100 | 15380 | 5.2% |
| Merced | 46204 | 10263 | 1528 | 57995 | 10.3% |
| Stanislaus | 50118 | 56865 | 12887 | 119870 | 27.5% |
| San Joaquin | 24000 | 49000 | -25200 | 47800 | 7.6% |
| Total | -180274 | 392207 | -78565 | 133368 | 2.5% |
| -5.9% | 21.7% | -13.4% | 2.5% | ||
Tulare leads growth in total acres, whereas Stanislaus leads growth in percentage terms. Kern has the greatest growth in fruit/nut which are usually permanent crops.
To what extent is the Valley suffering from a man-made drought? While it is politically popular to point fingers at the Endangered Species Act, I don't think the Delta Smelt planted those orchards.
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