Regional Drought Emergency Declared for All of Southern California

Drought-Tolerant Landscaping in Pasadena (photo – greensplendorlandscaping.com)

Entire region called on to further cut back water use as all imported water supplies are stressed by drought and climate change.

By News Desk

Preparing for a fourth consecutive dry year, Metropolitan Water District’s Board of Directors has declared a Regional Drought Emergency for all of Southern California and called upon water agencies to immediately reduce their use of all imported supplies.

In adopting the resolution on Tuesday (Dec. 13), Metropolitan’s board warned the water-saving call could become mandatory if drought conditions persist in the coming months. By April, Metropolitan will consider allocating supplies to all its 26 member agencies, requiring them to cut their use of imported water or face steep additional fees on water purchased from Metropolitan. 

Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said:

Since this drought began, we have been steadily increasing our call for conservation. If we don’t have an extremely wet winter, we will need to elevate to our highest level – a water supply allocation for all of Southern California. Substantial and immediate conservation now and in the coming months will help lessen the potential severity of such an allocation.

Metropolitan, on average, imports about half of the water used in Southern California from the Colorado River and from the northern Sierra, via the State Water Project. Use varies by community, with some relying almost entirely on imported water, and others using very little.

The past three water years were the driest in California history, resulting in record-low SWP deliveries to Southern California. The limited availability of these water supplies has been particularly felt by communities that depend on them and cannot receive Colorado River water, because of infrastructure constraints. 

These SWP-dependent communities – home to nearly 7 million people – have been under mandatory drought restrictions since June. Under Metropolitan’s Emergency Water Conservation Program, affected agencies have either been living within volumetric limits or have restricted outdoor watering to one day a week. Those mandatory measures will continue in these SWP-dependent communities through June 2023, and possibly longer if substantial rain and snow this winter doesn’t bring relief to California’s drought. 

“Conditions on the Colorado River are growing increasingly dire. We simply cannot continue turning to that source to make up the difference in our limited state supplies. In addition, three years of California drought are drawing down our local storage,” board Chairwoman Gloria D. Gray said. 

While taking steps to reduce demands in the immediate-term, Metropolitan is also making big investments in sustainable, climate change-resilient local supplies for the entire region. The agency is developing what could be one of the largest recycled water facilities in the world – Pure Water Southern California. Still, until these projects are complete, conservation is critical during dry periods like now. 

Up to 75 percent of all water used in Southern California used for irrigating yards and gardens. Outdoor conservation offers a big opportunity for water savings, particularly in the winter. Southern Californians are encouraged to reassess the needs of their lawns and gardens. Cooler temperatures and wetter weather can dramatically reduce watering needs.