SoCal Counties are Going Dry

Southern California declared an emergency water shortage earlier this week, imposing restrictions on water use for millions of residents in response to record-breaking drought conditions.

💧 A deeper dive... The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California said it's implementing a program that calls on residents to reduce their water usage by 20% to 30%.

• Roughly 6 million people in Los Angeles, Ventura, and San Bernardino counties will be restricted to outdoor watering to one day a week, which the district called an “unprecedented” move.
• This January, February and March – typically the wettest months that provide enough rain and snow for the remainder of the year – were the driest start to any year on record. 
• And that’s after both 2020 and 2021 saw the least rainfall in California history. At the moment, 95% of the state is experiencing severe to extreme drought.

📸 Big picture: Peer-reviewed research published in February found the drought enveloping the American Southwest over the past two decades is the driest megadrought in more than 1,200 years, and has been exacerbated by human-caused climate change.

👀 Looking ahead... SoCal’s water restrictions are set to take effect June 1, after which any violator will be fined $2,000 per acre-foot for any water that exceeds limits. The district said if conditions worsen later this year, “outdoor watering could be eliminated altogether… and limitations could be placed on indoor use.”