The long term drought continued through December, though there was near normal precipitation in the mountains and above normal snow pack by the end of the month. Reservoirs across the area began to slowly fill but continued to be well below normal levels.
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. He extended the executive order requiring Californians to continue conserving water through October 2016.
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 state continued to supply food assistance to those impacted by the drought, along with California Disaster Assistance Act money for those who have lost drinking water due to dry wells. Nonprofit organizations in the San Joaquin Valley struggled to meet the needs of their clients for drought-related programs.
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.
Low runoff in streams and rivers continued to cause adverse affects on fish and other wildlife, though there was some improvement in flows from rain events through the month of December. The endangered Delta Smelt and winter run Chinook Salmon were heavily impacted late in the year. 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 CENTRAL SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-DEC-15 00:00:00 to 27-DEC-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System indicated there were some homes without well water due to dry wells, with 70 in Butte County, 28 in Glenn County, and 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.

Drought in NORTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-DEC-15 00:00:00 to 27-DEC-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System indicated there were some homes without well water due to dry wells, with 2 in Shasta County, 34 at Tehama 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.

Drought in NORTHERN SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-DEC-15 00:00:00 to 27-DEC-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System indicated there were some homes without well water due to dry wells, with 82 in Stanislaus County, and 22 in San Joaquin County.

Drought in SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA
From 01-DEC-15 00:00:00 to 27-DEC-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System indicated there were some homes without well water due to dry wells, with 8 in Yolo County, 1 in Sacramento 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.

Drought in CARQUINEZ STRAIT AND DELTA, CALIFORNIA
From 01-DEC-15 00:00:00 to 27-DEC-15 23:59:00 (PST-8)
Reported by: Drought Monitor

The Household Water Supply Shortage Reporting System had 2 homes without well water in Solano 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 late in the year in the Sacramento River due to changes from the drought, such as an increase in water temperature. Waterfowl in the Delta were significantly impacted by decreased wetlands habitat.