The long term drought continued through September with little change. Reservoirs across the area were continuing to drop well below normal levels. All major reservoirs across the state were less that 40% of capacity. Folsom Lake was down to 18% of capacity, approaching near-record low levels for September, seen last in 1977.  70 homes in Butte County are without well water. The numbers reflect cumulative reports of household water shortages by county reported to the state since January 2014.
A growing number of residential wells are running dry. The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System showed 70 homes in Butte County without well water. Other counties reported residential water shortages as follows: Tuolumne 333, Glenn County 27; Shasta County 2; Tehama County 34.
Extreme drought continued to be detected by the U.S. Drought Monitor across most the region, with exceptional drought for the northern San Joaquin Valley, the central and southern Sacramento Valley, the Burney Basin and the Sierra.
The continued dry weather and periods of hot temperatures left vegetation parched and ready to burn. Wildfire activity was far above normal levels in September, with the Valley Fire becoming the 3rd most destructive wildfire in California history, and the Butte Fire the 7th most destructive.
Governor Jerry Brown declared a drought emergency for the entire state of California January 17, 2014 and this continued to be in effect.
Local Emergency Proclamations have been issued for El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Plumas, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sutter, Tuolumne, and Yuba counties. The cities of Live Oak Lodi, and Ripon continue in a drought emergency. Drought task forces have been established in Butte, Lake, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tuolumne, and Yolo counties to coordinate response to the drought.
Mandatory water reductions of 25 percent as ordered by Governor Brown continued to be in effect statewide, the first time such mandatory restrictions have been enacted.
Agriculture has been heavily impacted, with numerous farm and farm related jobs lost. The UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences released a new report indicating that California���s ongoing drought will impact the state���s agricultural economy this year by an estimated $2.7 billion and eliminate more than 21,000 jobs. The state continued to supply food assistance to those impacted, along with California Disaster Assistance Act money for those who have lost drinking water due to dry wells. Approximately 743,642 boxes of food were distributed to 391,003 households in affected communities that suffered high levels of unemployment from the drought. Nonprofit organizations in the San Joaquin Valley were struggling to meet the needs of their clients for drought-related programs. One area crop which is being heavily impacted is rice production, which is expected to fall by about 30 percent due to water shortages.
Low runoff in streams and rivers on fish and ecological continues to cause adverse affects on forests and wildlife, including the endangered Delta Smelt and winter run Chinook Salmon. High temperatures in the Sacramento River are having a particularly strong effect on young salmon, and could repeat the major fish kill seen in the summer of 2014.
Air quality in the Valley has been poor throughout the drought, particularly in the San Joaquin Valley, due to the lack of rain to wash particles from the air and dust from unplanted fields and newly dug wells. Smoke from recent fires has worsened air quality significantly, causing problems even for healthy people. Asthma has become a much bigger problem in the Valley since the start of the drought.

Drought in West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada, CALIFORNIA
From 01-SEP-15 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Newspaper

California ski resorts were offering incentives, such as discounts or guarantees to increase sales of season passes, which have been hurt in recent years by poor snow conditions. Dry conditions resulted in a continued loss of trees, numbering potentially in the millions, with heightened wildfire activity (see Butte Fire entry).

Drought in Northern Sacramento Valley, CALIFORNIA
From 01-SEP-15 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in September with some crops having a reduced harvest, bringing a significant loss of jobs. Rice production was forecast to drop by 30 percent in the Sacramento Valley. Tree mortality across the Valley increased, including even normally drought resistant oak trees. Golf courses faced pressure to use less water and were doing so, bringing a dry, brown appearance to the turf, and some remained shut down due to a lack of water. Many people reduced landscape watering at homes or removed grass lawns. Grass fires enhanced by the dry conditions were common. Wildlife such as the winter run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River suffered losses due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature.

Drought in Central Sacramento Valley, CALIFORNIA
From 01-SEP-15 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in September with some crops having a reduced harvest, bringing a significant loss of jobs. Rice production was forecast to drop by 30 percent in the Sacramento Valley. Tree mortality across the Valley increased, including even normally drought resistant oak trees. Golf courses faced pressure to use less water and were doing so, bringing a dry, brown appearance to the turf, and some remained shut down due to a lack of water. Many people reduced landscape watering at homes or removed grass lawns. Grass fires enhanced by the dry conditions were common. Wildlife such as the winter run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River suffered losses due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature.

Drought in Southern Sacramento Valley, CALIFORNIA
From 01-SEP-15 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in September with some crops having a reduced harvest, bringing a significant loss of jobs. Rice production is forecast to drop by 30 percent in the Sacramento Valley. Tree mortality across the Valley increased, including even normally drought resistant oak trees. Golf courses faced pressure to use less water and were doing so, bringing a dry, brown appearance to the turf, and some remained shut down due to a lack of water. Many people reduced landscape watering at homes or removed grass lawns. Grass fires enhanced by the dry conditions were common. Wildlife such as the winter run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River suffered losses due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature.

Drought in Northern San Joaquin Valley, CALIFORNIA
From 01-SEP-15 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in September during the harvest, with a significant loss of jobs. Rice production was forecast to drop by 30 percent in the Sacramento Valley. Bee keepers scaled back honey production due to a lack of nectar and honey to sustain their bees. Tree mortality across the Valley increased, including even normally drought resistant oak trees. Golf courses faced pressure to use less water and were doing so, bringing a dry, brown appearance to the turf, and some remained shut down due to a lack of water. Many people reduced landscape watering at homes or removed grass lawns. Grass fires enhanced by the dry conditions were common.

Drought in Carquinez Strait and Delta, CALIFORNIA
From 01-SEP-15 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Newspaper

The drought continues to impact agriculture in the Delta. Wildlife such as the endangered Delta smelt and winter run Chinook Salmon are suffering losses due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature and salinity levels. Wildfire activity was enhanced.

Drought in Clear Lake/Southern Lake County, CALIFORNIA
From 01-SEP-15 00:00:00 to 30-SEP-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Newspaper

The drought continued to impact Lake County, with a reduced harvest yield reported. The harvest was very early, mainly completed by the end of September. Grape sizes were smaller than normal. Extremely dry conditions increased wildfire danger.  The worst of these was the Valley Fire, which devastated multiple communities (see damage under wildfire entry).