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The historic severe drought in Southern California has forced one of its water suppliers to implement “emergency” conservation measures for the first time, which will affect about 6 million people.
The Southern California Water District (MWD) declared a state of emergency with water shortages on Tuesday and imposed restrictions on “reducing insignificant water use” for parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. The move includes an unprecedented measure to limit outdoor watering to one day a week for about a third of their region.
The water area attributes the state of emergency to the “reliance” on “severely limited” water resources in Northern California, which also withstands extreme drought. This is because the state has experienced a lack of rainfall and unusually high temperatures in recent years.
“It is assumed that the last three years will be the driest in the history of our state, which will lead to drought conditions, unlike everything we have experienced before,” wrote on Twitter.
Water restrictions take effect on June 1, when cities and smaller suppliers contact The water area will have to reduce outdoor water use or comply with certain monthly distribution limits. Those who do not meet the requirements will be fined $ 2,000 per acre-foot for each water the agency provided that exceeds the limits. Officials said some areas would have to make bigger cuts, but all in Southern California were urged to reduce water use by 20 to 30 percent immediately.
The agency receives water from the state water project and the Colorado River and serves 19 million people in six counties. Although she has been working to improve the water distribution network for decades, her board of directors has said it “cannot meet normal requirements” due to the depth and duration of the drought, which is now entering its third year.
Entering its third year, the drought in California is suffocating the agricultural industry
In August, low water levels at Lake Mead, a Colorado reservoir, prompted the federal government to declare water shortages there for the first time. As of Wednesday, water levels in Lake Mead were about a third of its capacity.
Some nearby areas in Southern California have already imposed restrictions. For example, the municipal district of Las Virghenes is subject to a local emergency of drought and halve its customers’ water budgets.
The crisis has its roots in the period between the autumn of 2019 and the autumn of 2020, when there was very little rainfall. This fall, the region’s luck almost turned around when stormy weather brought heavy rains and mountain snow to the northern part of the state. However, the crane largely closed from January to March, which was the driest start of the year in California history.
Parts of California saw favorable rains and snow last week, but not enough to significantly reduce drought.
Currently, 95 percent of the state – including the counties of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino – is experiencing severe to extreme drought. Snow cover across the country is about 35 percent of normal.
Scientists have found that extremely dry conditions in the last three years are part of a longer megad drought that has lasted since 2000. Studies published in February show that this 22-year period is the driest in 1,200 years and is linked man-made climate change.
“Without climate change, it wouldn’t be so bad,” climatologist Park Williams told The Washington Post.
The southwestern drought is the most extreme in 1,200 years, the study found
Weather forecasters are calling for the current drought to continue in the summer, as California is entering its dry season and there is usually very little rain or snow.
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