California authorities request to immediately cut State Water Project due to drought emergency
The San Gabriel aquifer reserve is practically dry.
Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images
Southern California’s largest urban water district declared a drought emergency on Tuesday and asked local water providers to immediately cut the use of the State Water Project
The resolution passed by the board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California called on people throughout the region to intensify efforts of conservation, but also has a special focus on six water agencies that depend largely or completely on the project.
Metropolitan’s board declared a Drought Emergency, calling for increased efforts to maximize conservation, especially in facing areas the greatest challenges. “We need immediate action to preserve and stretch our limited State Water Project supplies,” said Chairwoman Gloria Gray pic.twitter.com/0J7qgjMYPQ
The State Water Project carries water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to southern agricultural lands and cities.
Built in the decade of 1960 and early of 1970, the project includes canals, pipes, reservoirs and pumping installations.
The areas that depend on the State water is supplied by six agencies: Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Calleguas Municipal Water District, Mun Water District Las Vírgenes icipal, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, Tres Valles Municipal Water District and Inland Empire Utilities Agency.
Those Water agencies, which supply the cities of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties, have been instructed to activate additional conservation measures and reduce water use.
“We are focusing on spreading the message throughout our service area of that people need to increase their focus on conservation, ”Assistant General Manager Deven Upadhyay told the Los Angeles Times.
He said the statement from Drought Emergency is intended to support Governor Gavin Newsom’s call for Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by a 15%, but it is also intended to focus on necessary actions by the agencies that depend on the State Project.
California’s last two hydrological years, which ended on 30, were the driest in more than a century of records based on precipitation.
Although October storms brought heavy rains to Northern California and helped raise reservoir levels, supplies from the State Water Project remain depleted .
This year, with the state’s major reservoirs at some of their lowest levels, water agencies received only 5% of their total allocations from the Water Project of the State.
Next month, state water officials are expected to announce an initial allocation of zero percent for 2022.
