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By The Associated Press

FRESNO (AP) - State officials expect to release a record-low amount of water to 25 million California residents next year if the drought continues, a grim outlook for local farmers and urban dwellers already struggling to conserve after three years of persistent dry weather.

Lester Snow, who directs the state Department of Water Resources, said Tuesday the agency anticipates delivering just 5 percent of what was requested by its contractors, the lowest projection in history.

Although water deliveries could increase if more rain and snow falls over the winter months - a likely possibility if El Nino weather patterns hit California - Snow said the state had to assume it would be faced with a fourth year of drought.

"We're putting people on notice to get on with conservation," Snow said. "We'll need to take measures because what if there is not only a fourth year of drought, but a fifth and sixth year?"

Last year, the state predicted it would deliver 15 percent of requested water but boosted that number to 40 percent by May.

State Water Project supplies feed most Southern California cities and help irrigate 750,000 farm acres scattered throughout the southern San Joaquin Valley and San Diego and Orange counties.

Water managers in Kern County, where thousands of pistachio and almond trees grow near the Tehachapi range, said Tuesday's news was akin to a worker hearing his wages would be cut to 5 percent.

"This would be devastating to an employee, and the extremely low water allocations are the same to Kern County farmers," said Jim Beck, general manager of the Kern County Water Agency.

The federal government also delivers water to California farmers and residents.

Last year, federal deliveries were just 10 percent of the normal allocations, fallowing tens of thousands of acres, forcing bankruptcies and contributing to record unemployment.

The Bureau of Reclamation is not expected to announce its water-delivery plans until February.

Although the dry weather has exacerbated the problem, farmers' water woes are not all drought-related.

Supplies for crops and cities also have been restricted by federal environmental restrictions cutting back allocations that flow through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the main conduit that sends water to nearly two-thirds of Californians.

Last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a milestone $11.1 billion water bond that includes money to fix the freshwater estuary, as well as invest in water-efficiency and conservation programs and groundwater storage. However, the bond must be approved by voters next November, meaning none of it can be spent toward immediate drought relief.

"There's nothing in the bills that would immediately affect this winter and spring," Snow said.

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