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Weather Extremes Threaten Our Water Resources
Conservation Must Continue to Be a Way of Life
After three of the driest years on record, heavy precipitation this winter has boosted California’s snowpack to healthy levels and are helping replenish our depleted reservoirs and groundwater basins.
Winter storms have provided enough short-term relief to our imported supplies from Northern California that Metropolitan will no longer require emergency restrictions for six of its member agencies and nearly 7 million people that had been in place since June 2022. Thanks to the wetter weather and increased State Water Project allocation, Metropolitan in March also began refilling its storage, including Diamond Valley Lake, for the first time in three years.
The recent swings in weather from dry to wet point to the variable and extreme weather conditions that have made managing our water resources increasingly challenging. Conditions in California will turn dry again, possibly as soon as next year, and our other source of imported water – the Colorado River – continues to face major constraints. More than two decades of drought and severely dry conditions have caused reservoirs on that system to drop to historic low levels, jeopardizing water supply and power generation that the Southwest relies on.
We must prepare for the next dry period by rebuilding our storage reserves, investing in local supplies and our water infrastructure and finding ways to continue reducing our water use. Together, we can build Southern California’s water resiliency in the face of a changed climate.
Replenishing Our Storage in An Age of Climate Whiplash
Though recent weather conditions have relieved the most acute emergency for those dependent on the State Water Project, Southern California’s water problems are far from over.
Rapid swings in weather means that dry conditions could return as early as next year. California remains under a statewide drought emergency and the future availability of our Colorado River supplies is uncertain.
We are taking advantage of this year’s wetter conditions and increased State Water Project allocation to store as much water as possible in Diamond Valley Lake and other storage accounts so that they can be accessed by communities across our service area when the next inevitable dry period returns.
Thanks to these storms, and the efficient water use of Southern Californians, we expect this year to be able to nearly replace all the withdrawals we’ve made over the past three years.
As Metropolitan continues to make major investments to ensure future water reliability of the entire region, we ask residents and businesses to continue their commitment to making conservation a way of life.
We Must Sustain the Colorado River
Southern California relies on the Colorado River for about 25 percent of its water supply. But the system is in the midst of a 23-year drought, the most serious in 1,200 years. To prevent the system’s reservoirs from dropping to catastrophic levels, the federal government has directed the seven Basin states, including California, to develop plans to cut their use of the river beginning in 2023.
California and the six other Colorado River Basin states have presented Reclamation with two different proposals on how we will cut demands on the river. Reclamation is reviewing those proposals.
While the seven states have not yet reached agreement on how to reduce use in the near-term, these proposals are just a first step; there will be more opportunities to reach consensus throughout the environmental review process.
We are committed to working with our partners on the river to develop a consensus-based approach to managing drought conditions on the Colorado River.
Ensuring the sustainability of our Colorado River supplies will require the 40 million people and 6 million acres of farmland that depend on this water source to reduce reliance on the river.
Ban on Decorative Turf for Business, Commercial Sectors
For more than a decade, Metropolitan has incentivized the removal of non-functional turf, or grass that serves no community or recreational purpose, and its replacement with more sustainable California Friendly and native plants. These efforts have had a transformative effect, resulting in the removal of more than 200 million square feet of grass, saving enough water to serve 62,000 homes a year.
That commitment to help the region transition to more climate-appropriate landscapes is stronger than ever.
Metropolitan’s board in 2022 took a step forward to eliminate grass that is purely decorative by adopting a resolution that strongly recommends that cities and local water agencies across Southern California pass ordinances that prohibit the watering and installation of nonfunctional turf, largely in commercial sectors, as well as HOAs.
We encourage the public to continue to take advantage of our rebates to make the transformation at bewaterwise.com.
Investing in Long-Term Solutions, Together
From 2019 through 2022, California experienced the driest three years on record, putting an incredible strain on our water resources and infrastructure and resulting in the most stringent water restrictions in Southern California’s history.
Metropolitan and its 26 member agencies are working together to increase the resiliency of the entire region by building infrastructure, increasing local supplies and storage, expanding partnerships, advancing water-use efficiency and planning for the escalating impacts of climate change.
Metropolitan is also accelerating the development of our Pure Water Southern California water recycling project to create a climate change-resilient water supply, with a goal to begin initial operations in 2028.
It will take a comprehensive, collaborative and innovative approach to ensure we have the water we need for future generations as climate change continues to challenge how we manage our water supplies.
Conservation Makes Us Stronger
Southern California receives water from three aqueducts: The Colorado River Aqueduct, which we own and operate; the California Aqueduct, which carries our share of State Water Project supplies; and the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which serves the city of Los Angeles.
Today, we consider local resource development and conservation our “fourth aqueduct,” supplementing our imported supplies and strengthening our resiliency to drought and climate change.
The great news is that Southern Californians have embraced a conservation ethic – per capita water use has dropped nearly 40 percent since 1990, despite an increase in population.
Without conservation, the effects of drought would be more swift and more severe. Every drop saved is another drop we can store for dry periods.
Metropolitan and our member agencies are here to help with water-saving tips and rebates to help residents and businesses make the transition from lawns to beautiful, sustainable landscapes. There are also rebates to pay for water-efficient indoor plumbing devices for homes and businesses. Visit bewaterwise.com for water-saving tips and information on rebates.
Resources
California’s Snowpack is Now One of the Largest Ever, Bringing Drought Relief, Flooding Concerns (April 3, 2023)
Metropolitan board rescinds emergency conservation mandate imposed on dozens of communities (March 15, 2023)
California’s Snowpack Shows Huge Gains from Recent Storms (March 3, 2023)
DWR Announces Modest Increase in State Water Project Allocation (February 22, 2023)
Second Snow Survey Reflects Boost from Atmospheric Rivers (February 1, 2023)
Recent Storms Allow State Water Project to Increase Expected 2023 Deliveries to 1.27 million Acre-Feet of Water (January 26, 2023)
DWR Launches Interagency Task Force as Part of Advance Planning for Drought Conditions (January 20, 2023)
Metropolitan issues statement on increased State Water Project allocation (February 22, 2023)
Metropolitan issues statement on increased State Water Project allocation (January 26, 2023)
Metropolitan Issues Statement on State Snow Survey Following Early Storms (January 3, 2023)
Regional Drought Emergency Declared For All Of Southern California (December 14, 2022)
Water Agencies Unite and Commit to Reducing Demands on Colorado River (Nov. 16, 2022)
DWR/Save Our Water/State Water Contractors: White Board Video on Drought and the Need to Conserve (Spanish) (March, 2022)
Local Leaders Make Call for Increased Conservation as Drought Worsens (March 21, 2022)
DWR: Historically Dry Conditions Impact Planned State Water Project Deliveries (March 18, 2022)
DWR: Statewide Snowpack Falls Well Below Average Follow Consecutive Dry Months (March 1, 2022)
CA Department of Water Resources News Release: DWR Launches New
Website to Improve Tracking of Local and Statewide Water Conditions Amid Extreme Dry Conditions (Feb. 18, 2022)
Metropolitan News Release: Metropolitan Board Acts to Increase Reliability of Southern California’s Water Supply (Feb. 8, 2022)
Metropolitan: GM Statement on State’s Second Snowpack Survey of the Season (Feb. 1, 2022)
The Washington Post: California’s snowpack soars to record high after 17 atmospheric rivers (March 30, 2023)
ABC 7: Diamond Valley Lake near Hemet, SoCal's largest reservoir, refilled for first time in 3 years (March 27, 2023)
Associated Press: Storms end Southern California water restrictions for 7M (March 15, 2023)
Wall Street Journal: In California, a Race to Capture the Water Before It Escapes (March 9, 2023)
Associated Press: California winter storms boost water allocations for cities (January 26, 2023)
CalMatters: Growers brace to give up some Colorado River water (January 17, 2023)
Reuters: Why weeks of rain in California will not end historic drought (January 13, 2023)
Los Angeles Times: California snowpack is far above average amid January storms, but a lot more is needed (January 3, 2023)
Los Angeles Times: California set for more brown lawns and water restrictions as state issues 5% allocation (Dec. 1, 2022)
MyNewsLA: Water Suppliers Sound Alarms on Dealing with Current, Future Droughts (September 20, 2022)
Associated Press: Drought, record heat, fires and now maybe floods (September 8, 2022)
The Washington Post: The summer drought's hefty toll on American crops (September 5, 2022)
Associated Press: Deadline looms for drought-stricken states to cut water use (August 14, 2022)
Bloomberg: California Governor Speeds Up Drought Plan, Stops Short of Restrictions (August 11, 2022)
San Bernardino Sun: Droughts in California are a historic certainty (August 8, 2022)
Bloomberg: US West, Already in Drought, Is Facing Dwindling Snowpacks (August 2, 2022)
E&E News: California's megadrought is worse than you think (August 2, 2022)
Fox 40: California cities introduce rules and fines on water use during the drought (August 1, 2022)
Los Angeles Times: Wastewater Recycling Provides Hedge Against Drought (July 17, 2022)
The Atlantic: Why We Remember Floods But Forget Drought(July 17, 2022)
San Francisco Chronicle: Third Year of La Nina Could Deepen California Drought (July 14, 2022)
KTLA5: Be Water Wise: Metropolitan Water District, Armstrong Garden Centers (June 7, 2022)
CBS News: California is rationing water water amid its worst drought in 1,200 years (June 1, 2022)
ABC7: Trying to be more drought conscious? Here are some alternatives for your law (May 2, 2022)
Fox Weather: Conserving Water by restricting outdoor watering (May 1, 2022)
CNN: Why the Great American Lawn is terrible for the West's water crises (April 29, 2022)
CalMatters: 6 million Southern Californians face unprecedented order to conserve (April 26, 2022)
KTLA: Conserve water usage or face cutbacks, CA regulators warn (March 22, 2022)
DWR awards $49 million to help disadvantaged with California drought (KION546), (March 4, 2022)
The Mercury News Editorial: California is Failing to Prepare for Droughts (March 3, 2022)
KTLA: Southern California district wins 2nd prize at international water tasting contest (Feb. 28, 2022)
Beverly Hills Courier: Council Supports Water Conservation Challenge (Beverly Hills Courier, Feb. 21, 2022)
West Basin Municipal Water District offers incentives for grass replacement (Spectrum News, Feb. 18, 2022)
New York Times: Expecting the Western Drought to End Soon? Not Likely, Forecasters Say. (Feb. 17, 2022)
NPR: Study Finds Western Megadrought is Worst in 1,200 Years (Feb. 14, 2022)
Sacramento Bee: As drought continues, Southern California offers millions to buy Sacramento Valley water (Feb. 10, 2022)
CalMatters: Erratic weather requires new water policy approach (Feb. 8, 2022)
Patch: Local Water Districts Continue to Urge Conservation (Feb. 7, 2022)
NBC Last Vegas: Recycling Los Angeles’ water: We help them, they help us (Feb. 2, 2022)
Associated Press: Dry January means less water than normal in California snow (Feb. 1, 2022)
Associated Press/KTLA: California water districts to get more supply than planned (Jan. 20, 2022)
Wet season watch: Will California get out of drought this winter? (Jan. 10, 2022)
Associated Press: Water content of California snowpack far above normal levels (Dec. 30, 2021)
Las Vegas Sun: ‘What we need is multiple solutions’ to solve water crisis (Dec. 19, 2021)
Los Angeles Times Editorial: What we should do with all that rainwater (Dec. 18, 2021)
Associated Press: Big California storm dumps snow, drenches parched regions (Dec. 14, 2021)
New York Times: What La Niña Means for California’s Drought (Nov. 16, 2021)
New York Times: How Californians Can Save More Water (Nov. 4, 2021)
Buzzfeed: People in Arizona are about to face the West’s first major water crisis (Oct. 27, 2021)
OC Register: Rains helped, but drought is part of ‘new normal’ (Oct. 26, 2021)
Los Angeles Times: Drought-stricken California cut its water use by 5% in August (Oct. 19, 2021)
The Hill: Newsom expands California drought emergency statewide (Oct. 19, 2021)
CalMatters: As California drought deepens, water use drops only 1.8% (Sept. 21, 2021)
CalMatters: Newsom: Statewide water restrictions possible (Aug. 18, 2021)
CBS2: Water Supply Alert Issued for SoCal as Drought Worsens (Aug. 17, 2021)
NBC4: Metropolitan Water District Declares Water Supply Alert as Drought Worsens (Aug. 17, 2021)
Water Supply Alert Press Conference (Aug. 17, 2021)
CBS News: Megadrought Poses ‘Existential’ Crisis in California and the West (July 18, 2021)
The New York Times: The Western Drought is Bad. Here’s What You Should Know About It (June 4, 2021)
LA Times Column: Follow the Warning Signs: California is facing a devastating drought (May 24, 2021)
Bloomberg: Facing drought, Southern California has more water than ever (April 21, 2021)
Southern California leans on more Colorado River water to combat record dry season (April 14, 2021)
Drought is back. But Southern California faces less pain than Northern California (April 2, 2021)
Adopt Policy Principles for Modernization of Water Rights Administration in California to Enhance Enforcement and Protect Supply Reliability (April 11, 2023)
Colorado River Management Report (April 11, 2023)
Metropolitan board: Update on Metropolitan’s activities on non-functional turf (April 10, 2023)
Metropolitan board: Conservation update (April 10, 2023)
Metropolitan board: Study for potential East-West conveyance (April 10, 2023)
Changes to the Emergency Water Conservation Program for SWP Dependent Areas (March 14, 2023)
Colorado River Management Report (March 14, 2023)
Update on Water Surplus and Drought Management and Water Shortage Emergency Condition (February 14, 2023)
Colorado River Management Report (February 14, 2023)
Update on the current status of Colorado River Negotiations (February 13, 2023)
Applications for DWR’s Urban Drought Relief Program (February 13, 2023)
Board Letter: Water transfers, storage and conveyance agreements (January 11, 2023)
Colorado River Management Report (January 10, 2023)
Metropolitan Board Letter: Authorization to extend Operational Shift Cost Offset Program to preserve limited SWP supplies (Oct. 10, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Update: Water Surplus and Drought Management Update (Oct. 11, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Update: Lake Mead 500 Plus Plan (Oct. 10, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Update: Water Surplus and Drought Management (Sept. 13, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Information: Policy alternatives Metropolitan may consider for reducing non-functional turf in its service area (Aug. 16, 2022)
Metropolitan Board: Water Surplus and Drought Management Update (July 12, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Presentation: Water Surplus and Drought Management Report (May 9, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Presentation: Update on Water Shortage Emergency Condition (May 9, 2022)
Water Shortage Emergency Declaration, Emergency Water Conservation Program (April 26, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Letter: Agreement to enter into a reverse-cyclic agreement with participating agencies to preserve availability of State Water Project supplies (Feb. 8, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Letter: Amend Capital Investment Plan to include planning and implementation of infrastructure projects to improve water supply reliability for the west service area (Feb. 8, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Presentation: 2021 System Operations – A Year in Review (Jan. 10, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Presentation: State Water Project Dependent Area Solutions Update (Jan. 10, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Presentation: Update on Water Surplus and Drought Management (Jan. 10, 2022)
Metropolitan Board Materials: Drought Emergency Declaration - General Manager memo (Nov. 9, 2021)
Board presentation: Water Surplus and Drought Management Update (Nov. 8, 2021)
Metropolitan board letter: Modifications to Metropolitan conservation programs (Nov. 8, 2021)
Board Presentation: Update on Water Surplus and Drought Management (Sept. 13, 2021)
Board Presentation: Overview of Allocation Plan (Sept. 13, 2021)
Board Letter: Water Supply Alert (Aug. 16, 2021)
Board Presentation: Water Supply Alert (Aug. 16, 2021)
Water Surplus and Drought Management Update (Aug. 16, 2021)
Board Presentation: Water Surplus and Drought Management Update (July 13, 2021)
Water Supply Drought Management Update (July 12, 2021)
Partnership agreement to fund land fallowing to conserve Colorado River water (June 7, 2021)
Water Surplus and Drought Management Update (June 7, 2021)
Water Surplus and Drought Management Update, Water Planning and Stewardship Committee (May 10, 2021)
North of Delta Water Transfers, Water Stewardship Committee (April 12, 2021)
2021 North of Delta Water Transfers, Water Planning and Stewardship Committee (April 12, 2021)