In an opinion piece that was published Monday in CalMatters, Assemblymember Adam Gray (D-Merced) called for the California State Auditor to investigate the Department of Water Resources’ operations and management.

“In the 2021 water year, California water officials disastrously miscalculated the moisture content of the Sierra Nevada snowpack,” Gray wrote. “Because the Department of Water Resources didn’t know how much water was in the snow, or how much would be absorbed by the parched ground beneath, the department grossly overestimated how much would flow into reservoirs. That led the department to allow nearly 700,000 acre feet – some say much more – to flow to the ocean.” 

Gray said the waste of water “malfeasance” and asked for the State Auditor to include in its investigation “the accuracy of its data collection, predictive models, reservoir operations, pumping regimes and the role of decisionmakers.”

The entirety of Gray’s article can be read here.