Amid water shortages throughout a historic megadrought, California regulators have moved to limit hundreds of farmers’ entry to water.

California’s State Water Board unanimously accredited an unprecedented emergency order on Tuesday that might prohibit some Central Valley farmers from irrigating their crops utilizing water diverted from rivers and streams within the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds. Pending remaining approval by the California Office of Administrative Law within the coming days, the measure will go into impact on Aug. 16.

This wouldn’t be the primary time that the state has curtailed water utilization to fight shortages; regulators have carried out so in three earlier years, in accordance with the Los Angeles Times. But if the measure passes, it is going to be stricter and farther-reaching than something seen in previous years.

The new regulation would give the Water Board the facility to situation formal emergency curtailments on water utilization and require water rights holders to report on how a lot water they’re utilizing. Anyone who fails to adjust to the brand new order may very well be fined as much as $1,000 a day plus $2,500 per acre-foot of illegally diverted water, the deputy director of the board’s division of water rights told CalMatters.

Some 5,700 water rights holders in Northern California and Central Valley could be affected. That consists of some industrial and enterprise entities, however most of these impacted are farmers. The Central Valley is house to huge agriculture operations, that are already feeling the pinch of the drought. Farmers have ripped out water-intensive almond timber whereas weed farms have additionally reportedly resorted to stealing water.

The transfer comes as California—and the remainder of the U.S. West—are reeling from historic drought situations. According to the Drought Monitor, 88% of the state was in “extreme” or “exceptional” drought on the finish of July, as was 64% of the West. Those are the 2 most extreme types of drought the monitor tracks. (The total state and 90% of the West are in some type of drought.)

These dry situations, exacerbated by the scorching warmth waves, have ravaged the state, killing endangered chinook salmon by the hundreds, sparking devastating wildfires, and placing the state’s hydroelectric energy provide in danger. Reservoirs have plummeted to terrifying lows throughout the state and the West. The new restrictions might assist preserve water, however they can even put an additional pressure on farmers who’re already hurting, particularly those that don’t have access to well water. Chris Scheuring, the senior counsel for the California Farm Bureau, told the Guardian the proposal has left farmers “discouraged” and “dismayed.”

But officials have said that if the state doesn’t curb water utilization, the consuming water provide for 25 million Californians and the irrigation provide for greater than 3 million acres of farmland may very well be in danger if the drought continues into subsequent yr.

“It is imperative that we move urgently to better manage the water we still have and prepare for the continuation of drought conditions,” stated State Water Board Chair E. Joaquin Esquivel in a statement. “The Delta watershed is a resource shared by agriculture, urban areas, rural towns and fish and wildlife, among many others. This decision is not about prioritizing one group over the other, but about preserving the watershed for all, implementing our water rights priority system, and ensuring we manage through this drought, especially for critical health and safety needs.”

California has applied different restrictions this yr to preserve its dwindling water provide. In July, Gov. Gavin Newsom requested residents to voluntarily cut their water usage by 15%. On Monday, state officers additionally ordered farmers to cease diverting water from the Russian River watershed or face fines of $1,000 per day. Next Monday, residents of Roseville, California should reduce their utilization by 20%. Other municipalities have taken similar steps.

As the local weather disaster worsens, the drought situations plaguing California will get even worse. The warmth will trigger snow to fall as rain, soften what snow does fall earlier, and trigger extra evaporation of treasured water sources. Fixing the state’s water system for these situations might be a monster job. But it’s additionally crucial for society to finish using fossil fuels and zeroing out greenhouse gasoline emissions should play a task in any actual water conservation plans.