SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A U.S. agency said Friday it will not release any water for Central Valley farms this year, forcing farmers to continue to scramble for other sources or leave fields unplanted.
It will be the second year of no federal water for farmers in the region that grows much of America's produce. Many farmers had been bracing for the news as California's drought enters its fourth year.
David Murillo, mid-Pacific regional director of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said federal officials are doing everything possible to increase water deliveries during the dire dry conditions.
"Our economy and our environment depend on it," he said.
