The Metropolitan Water District (MWD), which supplies water to six counties in Southern California, issued a "Water Supply Alert" on Tuesday as drought conditions worsened.
"In declaring this Water Supply Alert, we are confident that consumers and businesses throughout the Southland will take additional steps to reduce water use and eliminate waste," said MWD board Chairman Timothy F. Brick.
"In the past, residents have responded to a call for action. We are depending on their help again to stave off the need to allocate supplies in the future," he said.
Water is in short supply because the Colorado River is experiencing record-dry conditions and environmental protection has gone into effect along the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The MWD is tapping into its groundwater storage to meet current water demands. Over the last two years, the MWD has used about half of its dry-year reserves.
"This is a serious situation," said MWD General Manager Jeff Kightlinger. "Now that the drought is official, consumers need to realize that water rationing looms should voluntary water-saving efforts not prove enough, particularly if we faced shortages that compelled our board to implement the district's recently adopted supply allocation plan."
Earlier this month, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought, ordering state officials to help local water districts with water conservation efforts and directing them to help farmers suffering losses from the drought.
California, the most populous state in the nation, has been suffering from persistent drought which is damaging crops, harming water quality and causing extreme fire danger across the state.
The severe drought resulted from two years of below-average rainfall, low snowmelt runoff and the largest court-ordered restrictions on water transfers in state history.
Source:Xinhua
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