Paul Ramirez, 54, is watering the front lawn of his home in Boyle Heights, California on May 11, 2022, while his bandit dog, a 2-year-old Yorkshire terrier, jumps for joy.
Mel Melcon | Los Angeles Times Getty Images
Radical restrictions on outdoor water use come into effect on Wednesday for more than 6 million residents in Southern California as officials work to conserve water during a severe drought.
The conservation standards, among the strictest ever imposed on the state, were set by the Southern California Metropolitan Water District, one of the largest water distributors in the country.
Homes are now banned from watering the lawn more than once a week in many jurisdictions. The goal is to reduce water consumption by 35% when the state enters its third consecutive year of drought.
The rules come after California officials announced in March that they were reducing state water project allocations from 15% to 5% of normal amid declining reservoir levels and reduced snow cover. The two largest reservoirs in California have already fallen to critically low levels, and the state this year experienced the driest January, February and March in history.
“The amount of water we have available right now will not be enough to carry us all year unless we do something different,” MWD CEO Adel Hagekhalil told a news conference in April. . “This is a wake-up call.”
The mega-drought in the western United States has produced the region’s two driest decades in at least 1,200 years. Conditions are likely to continue until 2022 and could persist for years. Researchers who report in the journal Nature Climate Change have estimated that 42% of the severity of the drought is attributable to man-made climate change.
As the summer months approach, curbing the use of outdoor water is the most effective way to conserve water. Landscape irrigation accounts for about half of all urban water use in California.
During the 2012-2016 state drought, former Gov. Jerry Brown ordered a mandatory 25% reduction in water use, during which many residents responded by switching to a drought-tolerant landscaping. .
Governor Gavin Newsom has not imposed such mandatory restrictions, but last year called for residents to curb household water consumption by 15%. Officials have also urged people to use recycled water for outdoor projects, shorter showers and only put dishwashers and washing machines when they are full.
An almost empty Oroville Lake is seen from above in Oroville, California on September 5, 2021.
Josh Edelson | AFP | Getty Images
But the measures have not worked so far to get residents to save water. In fact, the state’s average urban water use increased nearly 19% in March compared to the same month in 2020, according to data from the State Board of Water Resources Control.
Officials have warned that if water use does not decrease significantly, or if drought conditions become even harsher, they could impose a total ban on outdoor watering as early as September.
Newsom, during a meeting last week with leaders of the state’s leading urban water suppliers, warned that California could be forced to impose mandatory cuts.
“Californians have made significant changes since the last drought, but we’ve seen an increase in water use, especially as we enter the summer months,” Newsom said in a statement. “We all need to be more thoughtful about how to make every drop count.”