Central Valley river dries amid drought

The Guadalupe River, which runs through San Jose, has dried up due to the severity of the California drought. The 14-mile long river now only has six miles of flowing river water. At the bottom of the riverbed, fish carcasses are mixed in with trash. The once vibrant river for wildlife is now extremely dry, with little activity.

“It’s very difficult,” Colleen Valles of the Santa Clara Valley Water District told CBS 5. “We want to maintain habitat and we want to maintain our groundwater and there’s really not enough water to do both well.”

The Guadalupe River was a source of civic pride for many in the area. The river was finally seeing a return in wildlife after years of restoration efforts.

“I’m heartbroken,” Leslie Hamilton, executive director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy told San Jose Mercury News. “We’ve been seeing a great increase in the number of birds and wildlife in the area. The timing of this is just devastating.”

The Guadalupe River isn’t the only river that’s running dry. It’s becoming an all too common occurrence as the California drought rages on.

Officials at the water district say they’re doing their best to preserve drinking water, which leaves them making “tough choices.”

Although district officials have considered releasing water into the river to help fish and other wildlife, they say the soil would soak up the water. By their estimations, the river would be dried up again within a month of releasing water.