Southern California declares outdoor watering restrictions due to ongoing drought

Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura residents in Southern California will be restricted to watering their outdoor areas once a week for the near future as the region grapples with an ongoing drought that has had effects across the state.

Officials in the three SoCal cities announced a water shortage emergency and restricted residents’ outdoor water use last Tuesday, citing the drought, and the driest start to the year on record.

Snow runoff rates have fallen extremely short of projected totals, diminishing water supply to California reservoirs and drying forests out earlier in the season than normal.

“1/3 of our region – parts of LA, Ventura & San Bernardino counties – faces an emergency because of reliance on severely limited NorCal supplies. We’re requiring these areas to cut back outdoor watering to 1 day a week, but need all #SoCal residents + businesses to save up to 30%,” said the announcement from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). 

According to the US Drought Monitor, 95 percent of California is experiencing drought conditions currently. Other states in the region are also experiencing unusually dry conditions, as Lake Mead fell to record low levels and exposed an intake valve that had been underwater since 1971 when it was first installed.

“The past three years are projected to be the driest in our state’s history, leading to drought conditions unlike anything we’ve experienced before,” said the MWD in a Tweet.

The once-a-week restrictions will begin in June and are aimed at helping the system of canals, pipelines, reservoirs and hydroelectric power plants collectively known as the State Water Project, which supplies water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland.