Photo: JOSH EDELSON / Getty Images
The authorities of the water wholesaler in California declared an emergency this Tuesday due to the drought in the south of the state . Governor Gavin Newsom called in July for citizens to decrease by 11% its water consumption due to the conditions of the reservoirs, but according to calculations, it only reached 5%, leaving the reservoirs in the area at critical levels .
“ We need immediate action to preserve and expand the limited supplies of the State Water Project , “said Gloria D. Gray, president of the District’s Board of Directors, in a statement. Metropolitan Water (MWD) in California.
Action taken by the MWD end up being an extension of what was decreed by Newsom in October , when he added eight counties on the list of emergency declaration due to drought in the region, that includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, Imperial and San Francisco , that previously had been excluded by the governor.
Newsom had asked Californians in July to cut their water use by 15% claiming that only in this way could the state’s drought be alleviated a little which coincided with the warmest summer in 100 years, which largely helped ignite the wildfires that have consumed 2 million acres in recent months, according to Cal Fire estimates. However, the figures in the south of the state did not exceed 5% of savings .
Anselmo Collins, Deputy Director General of the DWP Water System, urged people in California to increase conservation measures for the water since there is no exact date for the end of the drought. In addition, the last bomb cyclones in the Pacific left very little rains in the south of the state and it is estimated that a dry section will occur until the 2022, when the winter is over .
“We urge everyone to take a closer look at how they are using water inside and outside their home because the water we save now is water in our reservoirs for next spring and summer, when the demand generally increases. We are also closely monitoring supply conditions and may request additional measures to intensify conservation, if necessary ”
According to estimates provided by Newsom in the summer, if the 1.7 million households manage to reduce their water consumption by 15%, would be saving 850, 000 acre-feet of water for one year , which would greatly relieve the reservoirs while waiting for the rains to bring them back to normal levels.
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