With climate change, drought, and wildfires, the need to conserve water in different regions of California. This state has been placed at the forefront of efforts in the country to rationalize its use and preserve as much water as possible.
In 2021, California took several actions to encourage voluntary conservation against the backdrop of a looming water supply crisis.
The governor’s 2021-22 budget provided $5.2 billion over three years for immediate drought response and long-term water resilience needs.
In April and May 2021, Gov. Newsom issued proclamations that a state of emergency existed due to severe drought conditions in 41 of the state’s 58 counties. As drought conditions worsened through the summer and California withered under record-breaking temperatures, Gov. Newsom signed Executive Order N-10-21, which called on Californians to voluntarily reduce water use by 15% compared to 2020 levels and expanded the state of drought emergency to include nine additional counties. While Executive Order N-10-21 fell short of a statewide water conservation mandate, it set the stage for future administrative action.
In October, 2021, Gov. Newsom expanded the emergency proclamation to apply statewide. The proclamation also authorized the State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) to adopt regulations to prohibit certain wasteful water use practices. These regulations were adopted on Jan. 18, 2022.
According to the Department of Water Resources (DWR), the water year that ended Sept. 30, 2021, was the second driest on record. After two dry years, reservoir storage is below 2019 levels. Although December 2021 brought substantial rain and snowfall, insufficient precipitation in early 2022, including the driest January and February in recorded history, has left California in “extreme and expanding” drought conditions for the remainder of the water year.
The City of Los Angeles has moved into Phase 3 of its emergency water conservation ordinance. This ordinance requires all LADWP customers to reduce the number of outdoor watering days from three to two days per week. LADWP has created an informative FAQ that drives home the seriousness of the situation and outlines the goals for our city.
According to the LA Times, further restrictions went into effect Sept. 6, when a 15-day ban through Sept. 20 was mandated by an emergency repair that shut down the 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline that brings water from the Colorado River to Southern California. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said that more than 4 million people are being affected by the shutdown across the region, including Beverly Hills and Malibu, Burbank and Glendale, Long Beach, the city of Inglewood and a large swathe of the South Bay, and other areas stretching as far east as Pomona.
Also under the ban is the city of San Fernando, at the northern edge of L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, 92% of whose 24,000 residents are Latino.
You can visit this website for more information: watering day fact sheet
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