On Wednesday, more than six million Californians faced “unprecedented” water restrictions as the state endured the worst drought in human history.
The Southern California Metropolitan Water District, which provides water to nearly 19 million Californians, declared a water shortage emergency in April and unanimously voted to impose water restrictions.
“The Met has never used this type of external water restriction before. But we are facing an unprecedented supply disruption in Northern California and we must respond with unprecedented action,” said Adel Hagehali, CEO of the Water District. “We are adapting to climate change in real time.”
California is in its third year of drought reported to have caused the driest in the state in at least 1,200 years. As a result, Gov. Newsom (D) urged all California water utilities to “take more aggressive steps to report the drought emergency and take precautionary action” last week.
“California has changed a lot since the last drought, but we are seeing an increase in water consumption, especially during the summer months. We all need to be more careful about how every drop is counted,” Newsom added.
Starting Wednesday, Southern California residents in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties will be limited to using outside water one or two days a week or with water volume restrictions. The Metropolitan Water District is targeting these three counties as it relies on water supplied from Northern California areas. The agency also asked all of Southern California to reduce their water consumption by 20 to 30 percent.
For example, Los Angeles Department of Water and Energy (LADWP) customers may water their lawn or plants only two days a week, with days allocated depending on their home’s residence. Those living in homes with unique addresses can water at their address every Monday and Friday, or even Thursday and Sunday.
Open watering is prohibited from 09:00 to 16:00 for all residents. To enforce the restrictions, LADWP is reportedly patrolling the streets of Los Angeles to “inform Angelenos residents about day-of-week irrigation restrictions and enforce ordinance.”
People who do not comply with water restrictions will be given warnings containing information on how to save water. A fine of up to $1,200 can be imposed for another violation after the first warning.
Source: Breitbart
