One-third of Southern Californians face new restrictions limiting outdoor watering to one day a week under an unprecedented action taken by Metropolitan to dramatically reduce water use in communities most affected by the state’s
historic drought.
The restrictions, unanimously adopted by Metropolitan’s Board of Directors during a special meeting on Tuesday, apply to dozens of cities and communities in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties – home to about 6 million Southern Californians.
While much of Southern California benefits from diverse water supplies, these communities depend on water from Northern California, via the State Water Project, and have limited or no access to water from the Colorado River or local resources. With deliveries from the State Water Project severely reduced over the last three years because of drought, these communities face water shortages this year.
The SWP on average supplies 30 percent of the water used in Southern California. However, three consecutive years of severe dry conditions have resulted in the lowest deliveries ever from this critical supply over the past three years.
Metropolitan declared a drought emergency for the SWP-dependent areas in November 2021. Since then, conditions have only deteriorated. California just endured the driest January, February and March – typically when the state receives about half of its precipitation – in recorded history. All Southern Californians have been called on to conserve by 20-30 percent under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order issued last month. Read the
press release and visit
bewaterwise.com for more information on how you can save water.
