Drought emergency declared for all Southern California
Source: Los Angeles Times
As California faces the prospect of a fourth consecutive dry year, officials with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California have declared a regional drought emergency and called on water agencies to immediately reduce their use of all imported supplies.
The decision from the MWD’s board came about eight months after officials declared a similar emergency for 7 million people who are dependent on supplies from the State Water Project, a vast network of reservoirs, canals and dams that convey water from Northern California. Residents reliant on California’s other major supply — the Colorado River — had not been included in that emergency declaration.
“Conditions on the Colorado River are growing increasingly dire,” MWD chairwoman Gloria Gray said in a statement. “We simply cannot continue turning to that source to make up the difference in our limited state supplies. In addition, three years of California drought are drawing down our local storage.”
Officials said the call for conservation could become mandatory if drought conditions persist in the coming months, which some experts say is likely. By April, the MWD will consider allocating supplies to all of its 26 member agencies, requiring them to either cut their use of imported water or face steep additional fees.
Read more: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-12-14/drought-emergency-declared-for-all-southern-california
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In this map, the MWD is the area in yellow that hugs the coast surrounding the Los Angeles metro area down to San Diego.
It's the southernmost part of Ventura County, the southern half of Los Angeles County, all of Orange County, the western half of Riverside County, and down the coast to San Diego and the border. It does not extend eastwards to say, Coachella or Palm Springs.
Population-wise, on the other hand....it's probably is easily the southern half of the state!
