If California is Facing a Rare Mega-Drought, Why is the State Releasing Water from Reservoirs

Boats on Lake Oroville during the 2021 drought. The water is down, but why?
(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Frank Schulenburg  (1969–)   )   Details   Source   DMCA

Last week, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom was in Oroville, with a 60% empty Oroville Dam Reservoir as his backdrop, he said he is not ready to declare an official drought emergency. “Instead, he promised he can manage the situation without resorting to an emergency declaration, which could help his administration clamp down on water use,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. They also reported that the threat of a recall election could be at the root of his decision.