The long term drought continued through October 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 16% of capacity, approaching near all time record low levels, set in 1977.
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.
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 continue to be in effect statewide, the first time such mandatory restrictions have been enacted. The mandatory reductions were missed in October, the first time since enforcement began in June 2015. Reductions of only 22 percent were achieved.
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. Numerous dry wells have been reported across the Central Valley. 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 estimated to have fallen by about 25-30 percent due to water shortages.
The continued dry weather and periods of hot temperatures left vegetation parched and ready to burn. Drought stressed and killed many trees in California���s forests, with as much as 20 percent of the state���s forests, or about 120 million trees, potentially dying from drought stress. An earlier survey by the Forest Service revealed an estimated 12.5 million dead trees in the state���s central and southern forests. This lead Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency and ask the federal government to assist with the safe removal of dead and dying trees.
Low runoff in streams and rivers continued to cause adverse affects on fish and other wildlife. This includes the endangered Delta Smelt and winter run Chinook Salmon. The Chinook Salmon lost an estimate 95 percent of hatchlings on the Sacramento River due to the effects of the drought, and may be in danger of extinction. This is also impacting the California salmon fishing industry, which produces an estimated $1.4 billion annually.

Drought in WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

California ski resorts continued to offer 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 in the millions.

Drought in CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Newspaper

The drought continued to impact agriculture in the Delta. Wildlife such as the endangered Delta smelt and winter run Chinook Salmon suffered losses due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature and salinity levels. Waterfowl in the Delta were impacted by decreased wetlands habitat.

Drought in MOTHERLODE/CAMPTONVILLE TO GROVELAND, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

Dry conditions resulted in a continued loss of a large number of wild and farmed trees. Christmas tree farmers lost seedlings and saw mature trees stunted by drought in the summer.

Drought in NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in October with a reduced harvest, bringing a significant loss of jobs. The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System had 2 homes without well water in Shasta County, and 34 in Tehama County. Waterfowl faced greater risk for disease as they crowded together in fewer rice fields and wetlands. Tree mortality across the Valley increased, including even normally drought resistant oak trees. While many people reduced landscape watering at homes, water conservation in California dipped to 22 percent in October as warmer temperatures likely led to more lawn watering, compared to the benchmark year of 2013. This made October the first month that conservation fell below the mandated 25 percent since enforcement started in June.
The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System showed Shasta County had 2 dry wells, Tehama County 34.
Wildlife such as the winter-run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River suffered catastrophic losses, with the National Marine Fisheries Service reporting in October that 95 percent of the winter-run Chinook eggs, hatchlings and juvenile salmon died this year in the Sacramento River due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature.

Drought in SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in October with a reduced harvest, bringing a significant loss of jobs. Rice production was estimated to have dropped by 25-30 percent in the Sacramento Valley. Waterfowl faced greater risk for disease as they crowded together in fewer rice fields and wetlands. The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System showed 1 home without well water in Sacramento County, 8 in Yolo County. Tree mortality across the Valley increased, including even normally drought resistant oak trees. While many people reduced landscape watering at homes, water conservation in California dipped to 22 percent in October as warmer temperatures likely led to more lawn watering, compared to the benchmark year of 2013. This made October the first month that conservation fell below the mandated 25 percent since enforcement started in June. Wildlife such as the winter-run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River suffered catastrophic losses, with the National Marine Fisheries Service reporting in October that 95 percent of the winter-run Chinook eggs, hatchlings and juvenile salmon died this year in the Sacramento River due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature. Folsom Reservoir dropped to near record low levels, with surrounding communities relying increasingly on ground water supplies.

Drought in CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in October with a reduced harvest, bringing a significant loss of jobs. Rice production was estimated to have dropped by 25-30 percent in the Sacramento Valley. The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System showed 70 homes in Butte County were without well water, 27 in Glenn County, 8 in Colusa County. Wildlife such as the winter-run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River suffered catastrophic losses, with the National Marine Fisheries Service reporting in October that 95 percent of the winter-run Chinook eggs, hatchlings and juvenile salmon died this year in the Sacramento River due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature.. Waterfowl faced greater risk for disease as they crowded together in fewer rice fields and wetlands. Tree mortality across the Valley increased, including even normally drought resistant oak trees. While many people reduced landscape watering at homes, water conservation in California dipped to 22 percent in October as warmer temperatures likely led to more lawn watering, compared to the benchmark year of 2013. This made October the first month that conservation fell below the mandated 25 percent since enforcement started in June. Wildlife such as the winter-run Chinook Salmon in the Sacramento River suffered catastrophic losses, with the National Marine Fisheries Service reporting in October that 95 percent of the winter-run Chinook eggs, hatchlings and juvenile salmon died this year in the Sacramento River due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature. Folsom Reservoir dropped to near record low levels, with surrounding communities relying increasingly on ground water supplies.

Drought in CLEAR LAKE/SOUTHERN LAKE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The drought continued to impact Lake County, with a reduced wine grape harvest  which was very early, completed by early October. Grape sizes were smaller than normal. Extremely dry conditions continued an increased level of wildfire danger through the month of October.
Low water levels provided opportunity for looters to scavenge Native American archaeological artifacts on exposed lake beds, riverbeds and reservoirs across Lake County.

Drought in NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-OCT-15 00:00:00 to 31-OCT-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Newspaper

Agriculture continued to be impacted in October with a reduced harvest, bringing a significant loss of jobs. 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. The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System showed 22 homes without well water in San Joaquin County, 82 in Stanislaus County. While many people reduced landscape watering at homes, water conservation in California dipped to 22 percent in October as warmer temperatures likely led to more lawn watering, compared to the benchmark year of 2013. This made October the first month that conservation fell below the mandated 25 percent since enforcement started in June.