For the first time, the California Department of Water Resources and the State Water Board announced a zero percent water allocation to 25 million Californians.
As California deals with the drought, state water officials reduced the initial water allocation from five percent to zero--meaning, the state has no water to give for urban and agricultural use.
"It's been terrible. Absolutely catastrophic," says Stratford farmer Paul Newton, who will not receive any water from the state.
California is dealing with what officials call the worst drought on record.
Rainfall across the Central valley Thursday didn't even begin to scratch the surface of what's needed to replenish the water supply.
"The state would have to experience heavy rainfall and snowfall every other day through May in order to just get back to average precipitation levels," says Mark Cowin, director of the CA Dept. of Water Resources.
So state officials say they're taking drastic and difficult measures.
While across the Central Valley, people receive water from state and federal contracts, farmers expect federal water agencies will soon make the same move and fear the effects will impact the Central Valley's agriculture industry.
"We are looking at an economy multiplying that this is going to be if not several billions, it could be tens of billions of dollars lost in economic activity up and down the San Joaquin Valley," says Ryan Jacobsen, CEO of the Fresno County Farm Bureau.
Zero percent water allocation means those who depend on state water will have to find other sources of water, including pumping water from the ground. Farmers face having to leave their crops unplanted.
"This is going to have a huge effect to not only farming communities, but we're going to see towns and we're going to see people that literally will not have the water that they normally depend upon through the State Water Project," says Gayle Holman with the Westlands Water District.