MWD orders major cuts in outdoor watering

The Southern California Metropolitan Water District on Tuesday voted unanimously to restrict outdoor watering in its jurisdiction to one day a week.

The unprecedented move, taken by the district’s board of directors in a special meeting, will affect about six million Southern Californian residents, according to a statement released by the district.

Dozens of cities and communities in San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Venture counties that receive their water from Northern California via the Stater Water Project, will be affected by the ruling. Those communities have little or no access to Colorado River water.

The State Water Project, which supplies about 30 percent of Southern Californian’s water, has severely reduced its deliveries during the past three years because of the drought, one of the worst in California’s history.

“The reality is, this drought has left us without the water supply we need to meet normal demands in these areas.” Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said in the statement.  “To make sure we have enough water for their basic human health and safety needs, everyone in these communities must immediately and dramatically reduce their water use.”

Member agencies that depend on State Water Project deliveries must implement a one-day-a-week outdoor watering restriction, or the equivalent, by June 1.

Affected agencies include: Calleguas Municipal Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Three Valleys Municipal Water District, and Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District.

“Metropolitan has never before employed this type of restriction on outdoor water use,” Hagekhali said in the statement. “But we are facing unprecedented reductions in our Northern California supplies, and we have to respond with unprecedented measures. We’re adapting to climate change in real time.”.