DROUGHT EMERGENCY DECLARED FOR SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

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By Miriam Raftery

Photo: dry conditions at Lake Mendocino, via Calif. Dept. of Water Resources

December 19, 2022 (San Diego) -- Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has declared a Regional Drought Emergency for all of Southern California amid a fourth year of drought. MWD is calling on local water agencies to immediately reduce their use of all imported water supplies. This call could become mandatory if drought conditions persist in the coming months.

By April 2023, Metropolitan will consider allocating supplies to all of its 26 member agencies, requiring them to cut their use of imported water or face steep additional fees on water purchased from Metropolitan. 

Over the last three years, communities across the West have experienced  the devastating effects of an unprecedented drought.  MWD aims to be prepared for these conditions to continue in 2023.

Fortunately, San Diego County is in better shape than some other areas of California, since our region gets only around 13% of its water from MWD. The San Diego County Water Authority has indicated it has enough water to meet our region’s needs due to its efforts to increase supply. These include investing in a desalinization plan to convert sea water to drinking water, as well as forging a deal with Imperial Irrigation District to obtain Colorado River Water. Some local water agencies have invested in initiatives of their own, such as raising a dam to increase capacity at the San Vicente Reservoir and investing in the PureWater recycling program.

But the Colorado River, one MWD’s most vital imported water source, faces alarming constraints as a result of a 22-year drought and a changing climate. Officials warn that it could reach “dead pool” levels, or a point at which water falls below the lowest intake valve. California and six other states that rely on the river have been under pressure from the federal government to drastically reduce their use.  In October, MWD and some other water agencies in California pledge to reduce use by up to 400,000 acre-feet annually, around 9% of California’s 4.4-million-gallon water allotment from the Colorado River through 2026.

“Despite our ongoing efforts to reduce reliance on the Colorado River, we are preparing for additional reductions there as well, as soon as 2023,” a statement on MWD’s website reads. “We must take action now to reduce our water use. Visit bewaterwise.com for water-saving tips, rebates and resources.”

Currently, the areas most acutely affected are portions of MWD’s service area that rely on extremely limited water supplies from Northern California via the State Water Project, MWD’s other source of water. In response, Metropolitan enacted an Emergency Conservation Program that restricts outdoor watering to one day per week or mandates volumetric limits for nearly 7 million people in portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

The action follows the State Water Board adopting a second statewide emergency water conservation regulation back on May 24, which banned using drinkable water on decorative or non-functional grass at commercial, industrial and institutional properties, including nonfunctional turf under homeowners’ association control. Those regulations took effect June 10 and also required urban water suppliers to implement all demand-reduction actions under Level 2 of their Water Shortage Contingency Plans.  That regulation stays in effect until June 10, 2023 unless the Board modifies or ends it sooner, which appears unlikely as the drought worsens.

The statewide situation is even more dire, after the driest three water years on record in California. Earlier this month, state water officials warned that they may slash allocations to a mere 5% of requested deliveries in the new year, unless there is enough rainfall to significantly improve the drought.

Photo, right: the California Department of General Services posted signs around the state Capitol Building in Sacramento in July. The signs highlight the Save Our Water program’s initiative to limit outdoor water usage to conserve water during the extreme three-year drought.

Even the iconic state Capitol lawn is now dead. In the bare dirt, a sign announces Extreme Drought and urges all Californians to do their part to save water.

Residents statewide are urged to cut their water use, including reducing irrigation in their yards and gardens.

MWD General Manager Adel  Hagekhalil says, “Metropolitan is doing everything we can to alleviate the immediate crisis and make investments to provide more tools than emergency conservation alone. We are expediting the development of one of the world’s largest recycled water projects, exploring new storage opportunities, and investing in the resilience of our distribution system. But now we need the public’s help. We can get through this by working together."

 


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