The Drought Project

2015 · 9 photos

The state of California is in the midst of one of the most profound droughts to date. In fact, it's being noted as the most severe drought in the last 1200 years. While drought conditions are expected to be intensified as a consequence of anthropogenic warming and increased evaporative demand, the disparity between surface water supplies and socioeconomic water resources is vastly maladaptive. Citing NASA data, the water storage has been declining since 2002. As of 2015, the state is projected to have only one year of water supply left in its reservoirs. The bottom line is, the sunshine state is running out of water. My goal with The Drought Project, loosely titled "Dry", is to document the people in various regions throughout the state who are both deeply and superficially affected by the lack of water supply. My intent is to investigate the sociopolitical and economic variables embedded in their realities in an effort to invoke awareness and create a dialogue for long-term water-management strategies. These images mark the very premature beginning of the project as they document the stories in one of the most severely hit areas, Tulare County. The Tulare County Board of Supervisors proclaimed a state of local emergency on February 7th, 2014, roughly one month after Governor Brown's State of Emergency proclamation due to projected drought conditions for the year of 2015.