Southern Californians told to reduce outdoor watering in ‘unprecedented’ order amid historic drought

Thanks to more than 7 feet of snow in April, Palisades Tahoe on April 29, 2022, announced yet another season extension. It will once again have Lake Tahoe’s longest winter season, with a new projected closing date of May 30, 2022. PHOTO: Unofficial Networks

By Stephanie Elam and Aya Elamroussi | 27 April 2022

CNN — … Southern California officials are demanding businesses and residents in parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties cut outdoor watering to one day a week.

“This is a crisis. This is unprecedented. We have never done anything like this before and because we haven’t seen this situation happen like this before, we don’t have enough water to meet normal demands for the six million people living in the State Water Project dependent areas,” said Adel Hagekhalil, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, noting that conservation needs to begin in earnest now since water usage typically increases during the summer months.

Metropolitan is calling on residents in its region to cut their water consumption by 35% to avoid a full ban on watering later in the summer.

“It takes 50% to 70% of (residents’) water consumption, Hagekhalil said of outdoor watering, adding, “We are asking people to reduce that water almost by half, if not more.” …

To this point, Metropolitan executive officer and assistant general manager Deven Upadhyay said the Department of Water Resources reduced its State Water Project allocation to just 5% of what it would normally receive for the second year in a row.

“This latest low allocation is coming in the third year of a drought and doesn’t provide enough water to meet the minimum human safety and health needs that we would need in the State Water Project dependent areas,” said Upadhyay.

The move comes … despite record snow in early winter. […]

1 Comment on Southern Californians told to reduce outdoor watering in ‘unprecedented’ order amid historic drought

Post a Comment

Winter Watch

Discover more from Winter Watch

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading